Dragon-Verse: Series One
by milady dragon
Summary: AU - This is a retelling of Jack Harkness' tenure as Leader of Torchwood, and of his Second, the two thousand-year-old dragon, Ianto Jones. Sequel to "Last of His Kind"
1. In The Cards

In the Cards

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, if I did I would have treated it better.

Author' note: Welcome to the Dragon-Verse!

This first story takes place just after the boys take over Torchwood Cardiff, and is a short set-up for the rest of Series One. In it, Ianto Jones takes a rare day off, and meets someone he never expected to. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

><p><em><strong>16 April 2001<strong>_

It was a slow Monday, and Ianto Jones found himself at a small coffee shop just off the Plass, sipping just-barely strong enough espresso and enjoying the unusual spring sunlight that streamed through the shop's large front window.

It had been a hectic time since he and Jack had cleared out the Torchwood One personnel and had taken over Torchwood Three. They'd severed all ties with London, much to Yvonne Hartman's anger, and together – along with Suzie Costello, the only person from One they'd kept, although Ianto didn't trust her – they'd managed to fend off one minor invasion and several large dumps of all sorts of junk in various places in the city. Add to that the Weevils, and Jack's beginning the set-up of an off-site care center for victims of the Rift, and it had been a busy time all around.

This was a rare calm day, and Ianto was determined to enjoy it. Cardiff was very different from Ddraig Llyn, and it was taking him some getting used to. The dragon felt as if he needed a chance to decompress, and to take a good look around what was now his home. Jack had baulked at being a man down, but even he could see the need for Ianto to learn about Cardiff. After all, it would be very embarrassing of he got lost on his way to a Rift flare…

Ianto was very aware of what he must look like to the people in the shop: a young businessman, wearing an impeccable and expensive suit, well-groomed and well-off. He smiled inwardly, wondering how they would react if they knew that he was actually a 2000-year-old dragon. Probably scream and run away, was the answer that came to him. But at least they couldn't go to the nearest knight; being the subject of a quest wasn't something Ianto enjoyed.

Unless, of course, the knight was Jack.

The dragon stifled a sigh, instead taking another sip of his espresso. He just didn't understand Jack Harkness, and there was a part of him that thought he might never. The captain could run hot…and then turn around and become distant and cold. Ianto knew what his own feelings were, and what they were becoming, but there was no way he'd ever admit them to the mercurial immortal.

Who knew he'd feel this way about an ephemeral?

But then, Jack was hardly that. He wouldn't die like ordinary mortals, and so he could be someone that Ianto could spend his own immortality with.

Oh well. Best to leave it.

He glanced out the window, watching the crowds walk by. A slight smile crossed his lips, and yet at the same time he felt a sadness settle within his heart. He was the last of his kind; there would be no more dragons. He was alone in a world of human beings.

"Hello."

Ianto turned; surprised that someone would be talking to him.

He was even more surprised at the fact that a girl stood there at his elbow.

She was blonde, and wore almost old-fashioned clothing. She smiled at him, but there was something off in her expression…and then he noticed her eyes. They were old, centuries of wisdom glowing within like a beacon, and Ianto took an even closer look.

His eyes widened, as he sensed the power in that small body. He bowed his head to her, recognizing her for what she was. "My lady," he said, gesturing to the seat opposite him. "To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from one of your kind?"

Ianto didn't know what her race was called, only that it was as old as Time itself. Then it struck him just who this was. "You're the girl who sent Jack to find me," he murmured.

The girl nodded as she sat. "Sometimes our captain needs a bit of guidance." She set a deck of cards face down on the plastic table. "I'm here to give you a reading, too."

A shiver skittered up Ianto's spine. Jack would have called it superstitious, but then the dragon and the captain disagreed about certain things. Besides, he knew this child creeped Jack out as much as she was doing to Ianto currently. "Not that I'm not grateful," he said slowly, "but I'm not sure that's necessary…"

The girl opposite him simply smiled, picking up the cards. She began to turn them over, and despite his sudden fear of knowing what she was going to tell him, Ianto leaned over to see them.

The first card had him almost rearing back in his seat. It was of a dragon, a snow-capped mountain in the distance, the sun glittering in green scales. Ianto recalled that Jack had claimed to have seen this card in his own reading, over a year ago.

It was meant to be him.

Ianto twitched in his seat. He suddenly had the urge to run, even as the next card was turned, to join the first on the cheap plastic table: a Knight in armor, holding a sword. This was meant to be Jack, and it looked scarily like him.

Other cards followed. One was of a dark-haired woman, her face hidden by an overlarge Cavalier's hat, her hand resting on the hilt of a rapier at her waist. Another was of a second dragon; this one black, against the night sky with a full moon in the background. Another man, this one also wearing armor but bearing a chalice. The next, a figure hooded and cloaked in blue, features shadowed from view. A heart with four swords piercing it, blood dripping from the wounds.

And then…the Lovers.

Two nude men were locked in a passionate embrace. It stirred Ianto's heart to see it…and other feelings that he desperately wanted to hide.

The last card was Death. That one sent a wave of cold through the dragon.

"He will break your heart four times," the girl murmured. "But from those actions comes understanding. You are the soul of the new Torchwood. What he does only matters in the short term. Change will come in the long."

Ianto found himself caught in her spell, his mind turning over the vague words and trying to find the true meaning within them…but he suspected she was saying nothing but the strictest truth, couched in the magic of prophecy. His eyes met hers, and he saw the whole of Time within them. "Thank you," was all he could say. He was glad that his voice was so steady.

She gathered up her cards. "You are needed, Last One. Trust me when I say that you are more important than you know. The Captain will come to realize that, as well…although I cannot guarantee the time scale involved." She said that last part with a grin. "I'll come when you need me. And you will need me."

With those parting words, the ancient being in the shape of a little girl got up from the table, taking her cards with her.

Although, her words were left behind, tainting the air like rancid smoke.


	2. Dealing With Changes

Dealing with Changes

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, sorry about that!

Author's Note: Here is the next story. This one is a coda for the episode "Everything Changes" and deals with Jack and Ianto discussing Suzie's death and Gwen's hiring. Thanks to everyone who have read, and reviewed, and added to alerts and favorites. Hope you enjoy this one.

* * *

><p><em><strong>5 September 2007<strong>_

"So, you hired her then."

Jack Harkness didn't turn; but then, he had to have been expecting Ianto to find him. The wind whipped his coat around his legs, and Ianto thought that Jack looked more at home of roofs than anywhere else.

Ianto himself loved the high places as well. The roof of the Millennium Center was one of his favorite spots to come and think. He strode across the slightly curved surface as if he was walking across the Plass itself, the height and the wind not bothering him at all. But then, he was used to even loftier perches, that just came along with being a dragon.

"I did," Jack answered, with his eyes still on the Cardiff skyline.

"Owen and Tosh aren't very happy about it," Ianto said, coming to stand next to the immortal. "Especially Owen. He thinks it's a slap in Suzie's face, to replace her so quickly."

Jack shrugged. "He'll get over it. It's not like he and Suzie were particularly close."

"Then I suppose this means you weren't aware that they'd been shagging for months?" That news surprised Ianto. He'd have thought Jack would have been the first to put it together.

"Are you sure?" Jack's voice sounded slightly strangled.

"After catching them at it in the Autopsy Bay…yep, pretty sure."

Ianto heard a soft curse, and he didn't respond, certain that Jack hadn't meant for him to hear it. "And why does Tosh not agree with my hiring Gwen, then?"

The dragon followed Jack's eyes out over the city. "Because she thinks it's a slap in _my_ face." The first thing Tosh had done was corner him about it, to make certain he was all right. He couldn't lie to her, and he'd admitted that he didn't agree with it either, but he didn't go into detail.

The captain was silent. "Why does she think that?" he finally asked.

It was Ianto's turn to be silent. He didn't really want to give the reasons that Toshiko had, simply because he was positive that she was seeing something in his and Jack's on again-off again whatever it was that simply wasn't there.

He changed the subject, not wanting to open a can of worms that might never be closed. Besides, he'd long known that his feelings for Jack weren't reciprocated, so bringing up the hurt that seeing Jack and Gwen Cooper together wasn't necessary. "What do you think PC Cooper can bring to Torchwood, then? She doesn't know anything that Suzie did, and from checking her files I can't see any particular skill she might have that would complement the team."

"I…saw something in her," Jack admitted. "I think she can bring something to the team that we lack."

Ianto looked at him curiously. There was nothing that he'd seen in the woman herself that he'd thought would lend itself to their dynamic. She didn't have any particular skill set that would fit in with the others; she wasn't even a trained investigator or profiler. "What would that be?"

"Humanity."

Ianto stiffened. He felt incredibly insulted, to be told that he needed to be more 'human'. "And have you forgotten that one member of this team isn't, in fact, human?" He tried not to let it show in his voice, but some of his feeling came through.

"I just think we need someone to remind us what we're fighting for." Jack's voice had gone harsh.

"I don't need a reminder, Jack," Ianto snapped. "I know very well what – and _who_ – I'm fighting for." His loyalty had always been with Jack, even when the immortal acted like the dragon was more of a hindrance than a help. Ianto had known Jack Harkness for nearly seven years, and the man's indifference still hurt. How many times had he wished he'd never left Ddraig Llyn? But it had seemed like an adventure, and that he'd had Jack to share it with. Plus, Ianto had always believed in destiny, and he was convinced that it was that destiny that had brought Jack to him all those years ago.

But the blush had left the rose not long after he'd gotten that Tarot reading.

He'd never mentioned it to Jack. There didn't seem to be a need. They'd built Torchwood up into something to be proud of, and Ianto had enjoyed it. However, the ephemerals he'd had to deal with had quickly soured him on the rest of humanity. Certainly, there were some he'd liked; he'd met Estelle Cole one day while out with Jack, and he'd loved her immediately. He could see what had drawn Jack to her back when she'd been young, the life glowing from within. He'd often gone back to her home without Jack, or showed up at one of her seminars. He'd been the first since Jack that he'd trusted with his secret, even if Jack couldn't do the same. Not that it mattered…Estelle was very much aware that the man who called himself her lover's son was, in fact, the lover she'd lost as a young woman. Jack wasn't nearly as sneaky as he thought.

And then there'd been Canary Wharf…and Ianto had seen first-hand what humanity's hubris had nearly wrought.

His companion actually flinched at Ianto's comment, and a perverse part of the dragon's mind thought it was good. It wasn't a secret how Ianto felt about humanity, but then he had little reason to trust it.

"She doesn't need to be told about me," the dragon ordered. "I don't trust her."

"You haven't really talked to her much," Jack protested. "How can you judge on first meetings?"

Ianto barely resisted the urge to call him a hypocrite, since none of the others knew that Jack was unable to die. Instead he said, "I always trust my feelings in such matters; you know that. There's this…energy, about her. She or her family has been tainted by something, something inimical to life."

Jack didn't say anything, simply kept staring out over Cardiff. A part of Ianto was glad that Jack wasn't looking at him; there was no telling what his face was giving away. He was so used to his masks, but this subject bothered him.

He was aware that Jack wasn't quite sure about Ianto's senses. Yes, the dragon could tell when the Rift was active, and would often know minutes before the alert would sound. He could also tell where Jack was anywhere in the Hub, and had actually made a bit of cash off Owen over it. But they disagreed on just what those senses were, and as such Jack really didn't trust them.

So, it was a bit of a shock when he asked, "Can you tell what it is?"

Ianto shook his head. "No. Only that it is generations old. It's written so deeply into her soul that I doubt anything will get rid of it." He thought it might be connected to the Rift in some way, but if so it was tenuous at best.

"Then hiring her might be the best thing to do. Then we can keep an eye on her." Jack almost sounded triumphant.

Which pissed Ianto off. "Anyone else you'd be throwing them in the cells and having Owen perform any test he could come up with."

The annoyance was practically rolling off Jack in waves. "I still think she can bring something to the team."

"And what is that, Jack? What can Gwen Cooper offer that doesn't have to do with this vaunted humanity you're so enamored of?"

"I thought she'd make an excellent liaison between us and the Cardiff CID."

"I see. So, you think I'm not doing the job properly." It wasn't a question.

"I didn't say that – "

"And yet you didn't introduce me as your Second when you were showing her around the Hub."

Jack opened his mouth to deny it, but Ianto knew he couldn't. He'd introduced everyone, along with their specialty within Torchwood, but with Ianto he'd denigrated him to glorified janitor and sex object. Yes, he was used to Jack flirting, but that hadn't been the time for it. Ianto had passed it off, returning with a complaint about harassment, but it was more to show a united front to the interloper than for any other reason.

"So, not only are you replacing Suzie…you're replacing me, in several different ways." Ianto had known it was just a matter of time, but that didn't stop the hurt.

_He will break your heart four times._

The prophecy came back in a rush. The card had been of a woman with dark hair, dressed as a cavalier. _Gwen Cooper._

Jack's jaw dropped. "It's not what you think!" he denied.

Ianto laughed harshly. "I doubt very much that you know what I think." He didn't know about the reading. He didn't know the dragon's feelings.

"You're afraid Gwen's going to take your place."

"I doubt I could stop it happening even if I tried." It was destiny. She was there, and her presence would break his heart.

Ianto wanted to fight it. Because, if he could fight this…so many thoughts rushed in on him, and he couldn't straighten them out.

"I'll make sure she knows you're my Second when she reports to work on Monday."

Of course Jack would think he'd be concerned about his position in Torchwood. No, if the captain wanted Gwen as his Second, Ianto would have stepped aside for her. Ianto would have been insulted, but it was ultimately Jack's decision.

But then, he'd never truly been in Jack's heart, so really he couldn't be replaced there. Replaced in the immortal's bed maybe…but never his heart.

"She doesn't know about me, Jack," he reiterated.

"She knows I can't die." Jack said it almost proudly.

Ianto spun on him. "So you trust her, but not the two people who've worked for you for years? Gods Jack…do you have any idea just how hypocritical that sounds?" He didn't let on that he'd seen the CCTV from Suzie's attack, and that he knew that Jack hadn't told Gwen voluntarily. It was just like the man to try to twist events to prove a point.

"I'm just saying that I trusted her with that, so you can trust her with you being a dragon – "

"No, Jack. I gave you my reasons for not trusting her. Owen and Tosh already know my wishes, and agree with them. You will respect my decision."

He looked like he was going to argue, there was a belligerent look in his eyes that Ianto didn't like. But, if Jack was going to disrespect him, then Ianto felt like he could do the same.

Ianto let his own eyes take on their dragon aspect. "You will respect my decision, Captain Harkness," he growled. "Just as you have your secrets, I have mine." The dragon didn't want to argue over this, because then he'd end up being a hypocrite just as Jack was. A part of him mourned the closeness they'd shared in the past, because that was apparently over. "If I see that she can be trusted, I might consider telling her. But until that time, she is to think I'm just another _ephemeral,_ like her." He put every bit of disdain he had into that word, ephemeral.

Then he stepped away from his part-time lover. "I'm leaving. I'll be back tomorrow. I also gave Tosh and Owen the day off. Don't come looking for me, because I can't deal with you right now."

Despite it being full daylight, Ianto reached deep into himself to touch the source of his magic. He could feel the transformation roaring through him like high tide, swirling in and around him, twisting his human form into its natural shape. Bones shifted and realigned themselves, and his wings grew from his back, unfurling like leather to catch the sun's rays. It was a glorious pain, one that filled him with the utter _rightness_ of his existence.

The dragon stretched muscles that had been too long in their ephemeral shape. His eyes sought out Jack; he was staring as if he'd never seen the change before, when in fact he had. "And you're worried about Gwen knowing?" he demanded sharply.

"There's a difference in people seeing me in this form, and knowing who I actually am. Goodbye, Jack." Ianto flexed his powerful wings, propelling himself from the rooftop and leaving Jack behind.

* * *

><p>It didn't take Ianto long to reach his home. He landed in the fenced-back back garden, transforming himself before heading inside.<p>

The house looked like a rambling Victorian, but the inside was very different. Ianto had bought the place just after arriving in Cardiff, and had the interior completely redone. The lower level was very much a human-like living area, with all those comforts that ephemerals needed: furniture; entertainment center with television and pretty much every form of electronics imaginable; large collections of DVD's, CD's, and books in tall shelves. There was even a guest room and bath.

It was the upper floors where the most changes had been made.

Ianto unlocked the back door, closing it then resetting the state-of-the-art alarm system he'd had installed months before. The interior was dark, the curtains drawn against the sunlight outside.

The dragon made his way to the kitchen, to put on the kettle. Then, he headed toward the stairs that led to the loft-like upper level. "It's just me," he called up, not wanting to frighten his guest.

A soft exhalation that sounded like his name answered the call. Confident that all was well, Ianto busied himself in the kitchen, determined to put what had happened out of his mind for the time being.


	3. After the Day

After the Day

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood...sigh.

Author's note: Here is the next part, a coda for "Day One". In this, Ianto visits his favorite pub after cleaning up after events, and enjoys some good conversation.

Hope you all enjoy this!

* * *

><p><em><strong>10 September 2007<strong>_

Ianto was about as close to exhausted as he could be, and yet he was far too wired to go home.

It had been a busy day and a half. Too many deaths…too much cover-up…and it all could be laid at the feet of one person.

It was just trying to decide if it was Jack or Gwen who deserved his ire.

He sat in his favorite pub, nursing a lager and wishing he could just forget everything. But his mind wouldn't let it go, and he brooded on what had happened, wondering just when it had all gone wrong.

Ianto could blame it on Gwen Cooper's inexperience and her almost desperate eagerness to fit in. If she hadn't made that first mistake, all the people who did die might not have. She'd been called in a day early to handle the so-called meteor, and really hadn't known where she'd stood. Yes, throwing things around unknown objects was always a bad idea, and common sense should have told her that, but then she'd only been following the others' example. Then there was her attempt at 'profiling', which might have worked if Gwen had actually paid closer attention to the information she'd been gathering on Carys Fletcher, instead of trying to impress everyone. It has taken Tosh to find out what the alien who'd possessed the girl had been up to.

Or, he could blame Jack for calling her in in the first place. She hadn't officially started yet, had received no training whatsoever. Jack had demanded that the immortal take on Gwen's training himself, instead of sharing it between him and Ianto as he always had, and then hadn't actually done any training at all. Gwen should never have been out on that mission. It had been Jack's insistence that had put her there. It hadn't mattered that Ianto, Tosh, and Owen had all argued about it, had tried to get him to let her be, but Jack had let that stubborn bull-headedness get the better of him, and he'd texted Gwen anyway, ordering Ianto to stay behind at the Hub and monitor. And when did it make sense to leave behind the most experienced field agent Torchwood had, besides the immortal himself, in favor of a rookie who didn't even know which end of the gun she should be pointing toward an enemy?

Ianto sighed. It was as if Jack had lost his reason over the woman. He just couldn't understand it. He was already favoring her over the others, when Gwen didn't know what she was actually doing. And he hadn't really seen any of this so-called humanity Jack had hired her for, besides her need to waste lots of paper in printing up information she hadn't even looked at. Waste was a very human trait.

Luckily Ianto shredded and recycled.

The dragon rubbed his eyes, wondering if he shouldn't be heading back home. But he really didn't want to go back there, for several different reasons…most of them having to do with his 'guest'. He was beginning to think he'd made a mistake, and yet it was too late to back out now. He simply couldn't betray her, and yet he was betraying Jack as well. If Jack knew of his intentions…

"Jones."

Ianto glanced up at the familiar voice. "Detective Swanson," he greeted her. "Care to join me?"

Kathy Swanson slid into the booth opposite him, setting her own pint on the scarred wooden table. Ianto had gotten to know the detective inspector in his liaison work between Torchwood and Cardiff CID, and she was one of the few humans he genuinely respected. "Fancy seeing you here," she said, removing her suit jacket.

"Must be my lucky day," he flirted half-heartedly.

She rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her drink. "You're starting to sound like Himself," she said, once her glass was back on the table.

"Gods and Goddesses forbid," he answered, knowing she was talking about Jack. "Shoot me if it happens again, all right?" Not that it would damage him unduly, but she didn't need to know that.

That caused Kathy to laugh. "No problem." She sobered. "So…rough day?"

"You could say that."

"I know you can't talk about it, and I'm not about to give you any false sympathy…but I do hope things look up. "

"Thank you for that." Kathy Swanson knew more about Torchwood than Jack thought, and Ianto had never even considered Retconning her over it. Torchwood was one of the worst-kept secrets in Cardiff, and if Ianto went around doping everyone who was at least aware of them then nearly the entire city would have partial amnesia.

"I…understand we have a new liaison," the detective changed the subject.

Of course, she had no idea that that was but one of the subjects that was bothering him. "It wasn't by choice," he growled.

"Look, about the only thing I know about your boss is that he's a prime twat – "

That caused Ianto to laugh darkly.

" – but I just don't see why he'd hire Cooper. She's practically a rookie on the force and she really doesn't have any skills that Special Ops could want."

"Would it surprise you to know that I agree with you?"

"On which point?"

"All of them. "

Kathy chuckled. "Would it help if I put in a good word with you?"

"That might make the captain even more stubborn."

"Damn. The news is already making its way around the ranks. The Gov's not at all happy about losing you. I heard him say that relations between the CID and Torchwood have never been better, and he could remember back to the old regime, before you and Harkness showed up."

Ianto took pride in that. He'd thought he'd done a good job, but knowing that Kathy's superiors had appreciated his efforts… "We'll just have to see how she handles it."

"It's almost a joke around the station, you know."

The dragon grimaced. This was just what Torchwood needed. "Lovely."

"Just a friendly warning: your people might be given a hard time at crime scenes. Might be worse if they knew you were taken off the job to make room for our former PC." She shook her head. "I can see you guys wanting some sort of copper on the team, but why not go for one with more experience? One that's more respected?"

"Trust me; if I'd known the captain was going to hire someone, I would have made sure your CV was on the top of the pile." He meant it. The only reason he hadn't told her about him being a dragon was that he hadn't wanted to put her in the position of keeping secrets from her superiors.

Kathy snorted. "I'm not sure whether to thank you for that, or to smack you."

"You might want to go for the smack."

That brought a smile to her face, and she raised her glass to him. "But really," she said, once she'd drank, "a lot of the local coppers respect you. You're about the only Woody we talk to, besides your captain, and you always treat us with respect. Himself just sweeps in and orders us around…"

Ianto's eyebrow went up at the not-so-polite nickname. "Well, I've always believed that, if you show someone respect, they'll show it to you." He might not particularly care for most ephemerals, but treating someone like they don't matter was always wrong.

But she was right about Jack. He had a tendency to just barge in and start throwing orders about, and there were times when it had taken all the tact that Ianto possessed to smooth things over. When he'd called Jack on it the first time, the immortal had just shrugged it off, quoting back that whole 'Outside the Government, Beyond the Police' spiel that he was so fond of. It was at that point that Ianto thought Jack had a bit of the megalomaniac in him, and that plus the immortal's innate narcissism meant that there was no way the dragon was going to get Jack to play nice.

And then there was the flirting. If Jack wasn't pissing people off with his attitude, he was hitting on anything that moved. More often than not it got him a phone number or an invitation out for drinks, and Ianto had yet to see him turn any of them down.

Sometimes Ianto really wondered how he could feel the way he did about Jack. Then he'd realize it was because he'd fallen into the same Harkness trap that any of his other lovers did. It made him feel cheap, and yet he knew if Jack called him, it would be very hard to say no to him.

"Some people just look down on those of us who have to actually work for a living," Kathy sighed. There must have been something in Ianto's expression, because she raised her hand to placate him. "I'm not saying you don't work," she hastened to add. "I'm just saying that there are some who think they're better than others, and are entitled. Himself is one of those. You aren't. And we'll see what category Cooper falls in, although I don't hold out much hope."

"I…understand, Detective." He couldn't add that he'd once been worshipped, and it hadn't been something he'd enjoyed. He wasn't a being who enjoyed attention, whereas Jack did. "If you ever do need anything, you have my mobile. Oh, and I did want to thank you again about the tip-off at the club." It had been her call that had put the team on the track of Carys Fletcher, and the alien that had possessed her.

"Not a problem. It seemed right up Torchwood's alley." She drained her glass, then retrieved her jacket and stood. "I need to get home. Take care, Jones." She began to walk away, then turned back. "The phone call goes the same way. If you need anything, you know how to reach me. But it's for you, Jones. You're a stand-up guy. I could really care less about Himself or anyone else."

Ianto nodded his thanks. He finished his own drink, knowing it was time for him to go home as well.

He shrugged on his coat – even though the chill of the September evening didn't bother him – then headed out to the roof of the nearest tall building, so he could transform and fly home.


	4. Seeing Ghosts

Seeing Ghosts

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood. Boo crap.

Author's note: Welcome to the next part in the first series of the Dragon-Verse. This one is a coda for "Ghost Machine", and in it Toshiko gives Jack a stern talking to. Hope you like it, and thanks to everyone who have reviewed, and read, and added to alerts and favorites. Hope you enjoy it!

* * *

><p><em><strong>16 September 2007<strong>_

"Jack, can I talk to you for a second?"

Jack glanced up from his work to see Toshiko standing in the doorway, looking a bit unsure of herself. "Sure, Tosh," he invited her in. "I thought everyone had gone for the night."

"Just me left," she answered, taking the seat opposite Jack.

"What can I do for you?" he asked, leaning back in his chair and regarding his tech expert.

"I…wanted to speak to you about something."

"About what happened today?" That made sense, after the events with what everyone seemed to be calling the Ghost Machine. It was certainly easier than saying Quantum Transducer.

"In a way, yes." Toshiko took a deep breath. "But it's actually been going on for days now, and I really wanted to know why."

"What is it?" Jack was curious.

She was quiet for a moment, as if gathering her thoughts. Then she looked Jack straight in the eye. "I'd like to know why you're sidelining Ianto in favor of Gwen."

Jack stifled his sigh. He should have known either Tosh or Owen would be bringing the dragon up. "I just think Gwen needs training – "

"No, Jack. That doesn't wash." Toshiko's face went grim. "When you brought me and Owen in, you and Ianto trained us in the Hub before you ever let us out in the field. We had to know Torchwood procedures, weapons, the mainframe…all of it. And then, either you or Ianto accompanied us out in the field to evaluate our performance. I still remember you having to retrain Owen on something that he did the first time he was out on his own. You haven't done any of that with Gwen, and you won't let Ianto near her."

Jack wanted to be angry, but Toshiko was right. He hadn't trusted anyone else with Gwen's training. He could rationalize it, saying that she was his hire and that he wanted to make sure she had a full knowledge of what she was getting into. He could also say that he wanted to train her himself, in order to free up the rest of the team for other things.

But he couldn't. Because those reasons weren't true.

In truth, Jack saw something in Gwen that called to him. Usually he'd name it lust, and seduce her. But this was different. She reminded him so much of Rose Tyler, with her stubbornness and feisty attitude, her need to know, and her pure humanity. That was what he truly coveted, and a selfish part of him didn't want to share that, even though he'd ostensibly hired her in order to remind the entire team what they were fighting for.

He'd particularly wanted to remind Ianto.

The dragon had changed since Canary Wharf, becoming withdrawn and developing an almost irrational hatred of humans…or ephemerals, as he called them. He'd seen first-hand the sheer hubris of humanity, and it had damaged him. All Jack wanted was to show him that all humans weren't bad, and that he shouldn't hold the actions of a few against an entire species. He'd hoped Gwen could do that, but so far it had been a failure.

"I did train her on weapons," he answered.

Toshiko snorted. "You call that groping you did training? You didn't do that with any of us. We saw the CCTV, and what you two were doing was practically foreplay. God Jack, if you wanted to bed her, you could have done that without upsetting your team's dynamics over it."

He was insulted by that. "I don't want to bed her, as you so eloquently put it," he snapped. "And I resent the implication that I'd get in the middle of her relationship with her boyfriend."

"Then stop acting like she's the best thing since sliced bread and treat her like you do the rest of the team!" Toshiko exclaimed.

Jack was irritated at being called down on his actions, even if he might actually deserve it. He thought about how his attentions to Gwen might look to the others, and realized how they might be construed. Still, that didn't make this tongue lashing any more palatable.

"She's still new," Jack tried to argue. "She needs someone to show her the ropes."

Toshiko shook her head. "Fine. Show her the ropes, by all means. But don't do it at the expense of the rest of the team."

"I'm trusting that the rest of the team knows what it's doing by now."

"Everyone on this team knows their jobs, Jack," the tech said, and he could tell it was an effort for her to remain calm. "We've been at this for years. But Jack…you can't dismiss one member of that team in order to play hero around a newbie who's on the fast track to getting herself – and maybe others – killed."

Was that what he was doing? Playing hero for Gwen's benefit? And was he really dismissing Ianto in order to do it? "I think you're reading something into this that isn't there. Gwen is a part of this team, even if she's a new part. She needs to be fully integrated, and to do that she needs to know what goes on around her. The best way to do that is to have her out in the field, learning as she goes."

"You need to train her the right way. Show her the job the way you did Owen and me. Let her learn all about Torchwood before letting her accompany us out in the field, where it's really obvious that she doesn't know what she's doing. Let her get settled into the position you intend for her before tossing her into the deep end. Hell, Jack…we don't even know what that position is yet, except for her liaison duties…which, you should know hasn't gone over well with the Cardiff Police. Did you hear the constables who were out at the scene tonight? At least three of them asked after Ianto, and when I told them he wasn't liaising anymore, they weren't very happy about it."

"Sorry, but we're not here to make the local coppers happy." Were even outsiders questioning his decisions now? But then, Jack hadn't realized just what sort of rapport Ianto had built up with the authorities.

"I'm just saying that it would help if we all knew what Gwen was here for. That way, we can make sure she gets what she needs, when she needs it. And I'm not talking about that profiling stuff she tried with Carys Fletcher, because even though she'd had all that information on her, it was still me who found out where the sex gas alien had eventually ended up. And, why you seen determined to put her in Ianto's place."

"I haven't put anyone in Ianto's place," he answered, avoiding the question of Gwen's duties.

"Then why does she think she has authority over your own Second?"

Jack barely hid the flinch. He'd promised Ianto that he'd make Gwen aware that the dragon was his SIC, and he hadn't done that yet. He made a mental note to do that in the morning. "Why do you say she thinks she's Ianto's boss?"

"She doesn't think she's his boss, per se. But she does order him to get her things, even when he's busy with other projects. Just yesterday, she practically demanded that he make her a coffee when he was helping me with my translation program. When he pointed out that he was in the middle of coding with me and couldn't stop, she acted like what he was doing wasn't important. He finally told her that she wasn't his boss, and in fact that he was _her_ superior, and she went away. I'm really surprised she hasn't come tattling to you yet."

He hadn't heard anything about that, and it bothered him. A small part of his reasoning behind hiring Gwen was that Ianto would need a Second when Jack left with the Doctor, and he'd hoped to have her ready for that time. However, he didn't want to tell anyone else that, because he didn't want them to know about it and that he didn't think anyone would understand him passing up either Owen or Tosh for promotion. Jack simply thought Gwen had what it took to become a leader; while the other two were more specialist in their duties. Besides, Owen was too abrasive and headstrong to make a good leader; and Tosh was quieter and Jack knew she preferred to stay behind the scenes.

But, if Gwen and Ianto weren't getting along…well, he already knew Ianto didn't like her, and didn't agree with her hiring. Jack was going to have to do some serious damage control if he was going to salvage this mess.

"Look, Tosh," he sighed. "I know you don't believe me, but Gwen isn't here to take Ianto's place. In fact, I was hoping she could help him with some of the things he does around here, since he does more than all of us combined. If I've gone about that the wrong way, then I apologize."

"It's not me you have to apologize to, Jack. I really think we're about to lose Ianto over this. He's the best you have, and you've completely disregarded him in favor of Gwen. You need to make this up to him."

Something painful lurched in Jack's chest. Lose Ianto? The very idea made him almost sick. He could never say it, but he'd come to rely on the dragon's quiet strength in the years they'd been at Torchwood together. Hell, they wouldn't have gotten as far as they had without Ianto.

The Tarot girl had been right: Ianto Jones was the soul of Torchwood.

But Gwen Cooper could very well be its heart.

Jack had to decide which one was more important, and he couldn't.

"Look," he said, "I'll set Gwen straight about Ianto's duties in the morning."

Tosh looked relieved. "Good. Because, if it came down to following Gwen, or Ianto…Owen and I already know who that's going to be. Ianto has our complete loyalty. Gwen hasn't earned that yet. Who knows…she might some day. But it's too soon." Her face went serious again. "And that still doesn't address the fact that, since Gwen started, Ianto's been practically confined to the Hub. He hasn't been out on any sort of retrieval or mission, and yet he's the most experienced of us all, besides you. I know Owen and I would feel better if he was watching our backs."

"What about me?" Jack asked, trying to lighten the situation. "I'm not exactly chopped liver, you know."

"I know that. But, no offence…it's just that Ianto's practically unkillable. He won't be stopped if any of us are in danger. That's the kind of back-up we need, Jack. After all, the rest of us can die. He can't. And he'll protect us no matter what."

Jack opened his mouth to rebut that, but realized he couldn't. Tosh was right. Ianto wouldn't let any injury stop him from coming to the defense of a teammate.

The irony there was that Jack was the same…he just hadn't told anyone about his inability to stay dead. Tosh was including him in the mortal category, and Jack found himself feeling somewhat insulted, even if it was his own fault.

"Ianto has made it clear that he doesn't want Gwen to know he's not human," Jack answered. "I'm just trying to save him from a situation where she finds out."

Tosh wasn't sold. "Suzie didn't know either, and Ianto was always out in the field with her. Put him back in the field rotation, Jack. Please. We trust him and he knows what he's doing." It looked like she wanted to say something else, but remained silent.

Jack knew what it was, however. She wanted an answer as to why he'd taken Ianto out of the field.

The problem was, Jack wasn't sure why, either. As a punishment, maybe? For his questioning of Jack's bringing Gwen in? Or maybe it was something else…

He knew, of course, that if he let Ianto get too close, that he could very easily fall for the dragon. After all, he'd been fighting the attraction for years; and several times he'd failed, and had ended up taking Ianto into his bed. Who else knows what it's like to live on, while all those around you die? He knew he should be relying on Ianto, that despite Gwen's humanity that she'd never understand what Jack's apparent immortality did to him.

But Ianto could. And that was frightening, because if Jack ever let himself get all that close then he could very easily give up his quest for the Doctor.

No, Jack couldn't do that. He couldn't give up over a hundred years of waiting, just because of a dragon. Pushing Ianto away would be for the best.

"All right," he gave in. Despite his small feeling of betrayal at Ianto's resistance of accepting Gwen, he knew the right thing would be to put the dragon back out into the field. "You have a point, Tosh. It's a waste to have Ianto staying in the Hub and out of the field." He held up his hand to keep Tosh from saying anything else. "I'll take your other points under advisement, but accept that Gwen is here to stay. She offers something to this team that we've lacked, and she does have skills we can use."

Tosh sighed. "You mean this humanity thing you're hooked on?" She stood. "Tell me this, Jack…if we're all lacking in humanity, then why are we fighting for it? If we didn't care, we wouldn't be here. And, despite his denials, Ianto Jones is the most human of us all." She didn't give him time to answer, leaving the office and heading toward her desk to collect her things.

Jack watched her leave.


	5. Legacy of Canary Wharf  Chapter One

The Legacy of Canary Wharf - Chapter One

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, which is a real shame.

Author's Note: Here's the next part. This is a rewrite of "Cyberwoman", since Ianto didn't work at Canary Wharf in this universe. This section is a complete story, with several chapters, and not a coda. I do hope you like it!

Thanks, everyone! I really appreciate all the support you guys are giving me on this.

* * *

><p><em><strong>25 September 2007<strong>_

Ianto Jones dreamed.

In his dreams, his family was still alive. He saw them vividly: his father, a fiercely protective blue dragon; his mother, her scales as green as emeralds; and his sister, who'd taken the best features of both their parents, her coloring almost the same shade as the still, clear lake at the base of a snow-capped mountain. They were happy, living in Ddraig Llyn's valley, surrounded by friendly ephemerals and at peace with their neighbors. His sister had been courted by a fiery-tempered red dragon from the southern lands, and their father had approved of their mating. He dreamed of his family, and those dreams were good ones.

He would awaken from those, smiling.

But, more often than not, there would be nightmares. Visions of blood, and screaming, and of awakening among the butchered corpses of his family, while the so-called Christian knights who'd slaughtered them celebrated around a great bonfire, the flames crackling and popping as the once-glittering scales of his mother blackened within the heat in the way that the living bodies of their people did not. He dreamed of roaring in rage and pain, his own inner fire taking the knights by surprise, and how his sister's mate had found him, curled up among the cold ashes of the murderers, surrounded by the remains of his family, lost in the great song of mourning.

Those nightmares would fling him from the darkness of sleep, and he'd always awaken alone, his heart screaming in loss.

There were other dreams as well.

Dreams of him, in the mating flight with a beautiful blue-gray dragon, his mate's laughing blue eyes urging him higher and higher until the sky turned indigo and the stars were as hard as diamonds above them. They'd come together in the sensual dance of their people, wings and claws and the singing of the eternal song of two who were destined to be together forever.

Those were the dreams he'd awaken from with tears glistening on his snout, as the agony of what would never be ripped open yet one more wound in his already shredded soul.

It was on those days that he wondered why he was still even alive. Why the pain and grief and loneliness hadn't gotten the better of him by now, and he'd used one of the very few ways to kill dragonkind to join his long-lost family. He'd think back on everything that had happened, and would realize that the kind people of Ddraig Llyn had been the ones to care for him, to heal him and to give him a purpose. And he'd betrayed their kindnesses and their acceptance to follow an immortal man into the ephemeral world, where he'd thought he'd be able to make a difference. But all that had happened was that the larger world had tainted and spoiled him, and had hardened his heart.

He was having one of those type nights now.

Ianto lay curled on his bed of pillows, head up and looking out of the large skylight he'd had installed in the house he'd purchased upon moving to Cardiff. He couldn't really see a lot of the stars, as he could back home; the light pollution of the larger city made the sky an odd orange color and overwhelmed everything but the brightest stars.

Still, he stared out into what passed for darkness in this age, his thoughts harsh and sharp in his mind. Ianto wished he'd never left his home, that he was still keeping his inn for the very few people who came through town. That he could live among the very few ephemerals who'd become his friends, and be at peace.

But no…he'd had to follow Jack Harkness. He'd had to believe in his heart, as his mother had once told him to. She'd said Ianto had a great capacity for love, and that his heart would always lead him in the right direction. That had proven true, but then he'd met the immortal captain and had followed his heart once more…to its ruin. Ianto had believed in Jack, had believed in that prophecy that had led the man to Ianto's valley, and had followed without considering the consequences.

What had it gotten him? He'd fallen for the one person who should have been able to understand just how the long years could weigh on a lonely soul, but who didn't feel the same way about the dragon at all.

And he'd gained an anger toward humans that warmed him almost as much as his own internal flame did.

Ianto sighed. Certainly, there were good people out there: Tosh, and Kathy Swanson, and even Owen Harper although he liked to play the sarcastic prat. He could count them as friends.

But they were far outweighed by the small-minded, petty individuals that the dragon had far more experience with.

Then there was Canary Wharf.

Ianto rested his head on his crossed forelegs as his thoughts became even darker. That had shown him the height of ephemeral pride and entitlement, in the ruined tower and the bodies of nearly one thousand people. They'd reached too high, dared to take what should never have been taken. And it had earned them death or conversion.

Jack had warned him; he had to give the captain credit for that. When Jack had sent him, and Suzie, and Owen into the hell that had once been Torchwood One, he's warned them all that it would be bad. They'd had to go, to make sure what London had been hiding never fell into the wrong hands.

Ianto wasn't sure that Torchwood Three _was_ the right hands.

A soft exhalation drew his attention; his slitted eyes flickered toward the human-sized bed that he'd put in his loft – although no one had ever used it until his return from London – and the small lump under the duvet.

It seemed she was having just as bad a night as Ianto was.

The dragon remembered it vividly, making his way down that basement corridor at Torchwood Tower, searching for survivors. He'd felt the tingle before he's reached the locked door, his heart thudding painfully as he denied the sensation, knowing that it couldn't be what he'd thought…

"Ianto?"

He turned to look at her fully. "You should be sleeping," he chastised lightly.

"I…can't. Can I…join you?"

He didn't really want her to. There was something wrong with feeling her leaning against his scales, knowing that she shouldn't be wearing that ephemeral form, and that there wasn't anything they could do about that…yet.

But he couldn't deny her. "All right."

She moved tiredly, pushing the covers away from her thin, frail human body. Ianto didn't get up to help her, because she wouldn't appreciate it.

That too-cool body curled up against his side, a dainty hand resting on his shoulder. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"It's fine," he replied, shifting his body slightly so she could be more comfortable.

"I was dreaming…about my family."

"It's a night for dreams, it seems." He didn't share what he'd been dreaming of.

"Do you think I'll ever be free?"

"Dr. Tanizaki is arriving tomorrow…or should I say, tonight, since it's after midnight," Ianto answered. "I think, if anyone can help us, it's him." Ianto wanted to hope, but there was a part of him that was aware that he'd lost most of that particular emotion a long time ago.

She sighed. "I'm frightened, Ianto. I don't want to live like this. Promise me, if he can't help – "

"I'll promise no such thing," he whispered. "I don't think I can."

_He will break your heart four times._

The card has been the Moon: a black dragon in flight, the full moon in the sky behind it.

It really hadn't occurred to him that he'd found the meaning of that card in the ruins of humanity's hubris, in a dingy cell in the deepest basement of Torchwood Tower. It had only been Gwen Cooper's arrival that had made him realize that he was seeing his Tarot reading coming true, and what that card had meant.

Ianto knew how this would turn out, if the girl had been correct. That what the dragon wanted so badly would be all in vain.

Ianto wanted to break this curse. He wanted Tanizaki to be able to help her, to be able to undo what the ephemerals had done. To regain the freedom he'd lost the moment he'd chosen to follow Jack Harkness to Cardiff, to become the Second in Command of Torchwood Three.

The dragon wanted to go home.

He knew that leaving would betray his word to Jack, something he'd never thought he'd do. In the seven years he'd been with Torchwood, even as bad as things would get between himself and the captain, Ianto had never once considered betraying him. However, that was before his fateful discovery in London.

And again, he couldn't say that Jack hadn't warned him. The immortal had told him how bad Yvonne Hartman could be, and what could happen if she'd ever found out about Ianto's true nature. There was a difference in being told, and actually seeing it for himself, and it had disgusted him. Ephemerals were barbarians, and didn't deserve being protected.

His mother would have been shocked by this change in her gentle, loving son.

There were times when he could still smell the burning of her once-emerald scales, and pushed down the knowledge that she would have been disappointed in him.

Ianto had to break this curse that was on him. He'd never thought that destiny could be such a burden.

"You need to sleep," he admonished.

"I keep thinking about it…"

"I know. But you need your rest. It's going to be a busy day, what with trying to get you into the Hub…" As much as he'd prefer Tanizaki to work there, in his home, he knew that the doctor would need the equipment that Torchwood had available.

If it could be done, of course. Ianto wanted to believe, but the despair was too great. It didn't stop him from trying, and wishing to succeed.

"Tell me again about home, Ianto." The quiet request broke him from his dark thoughts.

"It's beautiful," he replied. "Unspoiled, untouched…and the humans there care." He continued to talk, knowing his words were soothing her back into sleep.

Her soft breathing was peaceful, but Ianto still couldn't sleep. So much was riding on whether they could help her, on whether this Japanese doctor could free her from what Torchwood had done to her. Ianto desperately wanted to win out against destiny, to fight the curse that the girl had placed on him. Then, they could return to his home, and leave the wide-open world of the ephemerals behind. Let them save themselves.

The one and only hope he had, was that the being disguised as a girl had been wrong about Ianto being the last of his kind. To him, that meant the future could yet be changed.

A part of the dragon felt guilty at his selfishness, and his betrayal. Ianto pushed that guilt back down, not wanting it to stop him from what needed to be done.

The dragon closed his eyes, hoping to get a bit more sleep before he'd need to go into the Hub for the day. Sleep still eluded him; the vision of him and his mate in the mating flight danced in his minds' eye, and he stifled the song of mourning that rose in his chest, causing his heart to spasm in pain.

That flight would never happen.

Because Jack wasn't a dragon. And he didn't love Ianto.

He needed her to be well, and whole. To replace the one person he wanted to mate with more than anything.

It wasn't fair to think that way. Ianto knew it wasn't, but he couldn't help it. Between them, they had a chance at family and happiness, even if Ianto's heart would belong to someone else.

"It will be all right, Lisa," he murmured into the night. He pretended that it wasn't a lie.


	6. Legacy of Canary Wharf Chapter Two

The Legacy of Canary Wharf

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, which is a crying shame.

Author's note: Sorry, meant to have this up last night, but events beyond my control kept me from posting. So, here is the second chapter of this part of the story, and I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

><p><em><strong>25 September 2007<strong>_

Jack Harkness looked out from the window in his office, watching his team as they worked.

The last couple of days had been boring; there hadn't been any Rift alerts, not even a stray Weevil. That left them nothing to do but catch-up work, mostly forms and reports that usually piled up during the busy times. Ianto had put his foot down in the morning meeting, listing just what hadn't been done, and what had to take precedence. Jack hadn't even known that Owen and Gwen still owed reports from the Ghost Machine incident, and had backed his Second in ordering the paperwork done immediately. Yes, the affair had been particularly tough on both his operatives, but that didn't excuse shoddy reporting.

Of course, then Ianto had brought Jack several files he'd needed signatures on, and suddenly the captain could sympathize with his people.

Toshiko was at her position, working on what Jack knew was her Rift Predictor program. Of them all, she was the only one caught up with her work, and so she was 'allowed' to work on one of her special projects. Jack watched as Ianto approached her with a mug of coffee, smiling at something she told him. He nodded, then moved on, taking coffees to both Gwen and Owen as they worked at their own desks. Jack frowned as Gwen didn't even acknowledge Ianto's presence.

And then Ianto was at his door, knocking softly. Jack turned, and told him to come in.

"Coffee," the dragon said, setting Jack's usual mug down on one of the many reports littering the curved desk.

"You are a lifesaver," Jack praised. "All of this paperwork is putting me to sleep."

"Well, if you'd do it in a timely manner…" Ianto hinted.

"Yeah, yeah…I know. But then I'd be ruining the fun that you have in riding me about it." Jack sent a leer in Ianto's direction, making sure the dragon knew he was talking about a completely different type of 'riding'.

Ianto's face immediately closed off, falling into the professional mask that he'd been adopting more and more lately. "I believe that's harassment, sir," he said, almost tonelessly.

Jack was surprised that his flirting had garnered such a response, and said the only thing that would come to mind. "It's only harassment if you don't like it."

Ianto's shoulders stiffened. "As I said…harassment." The dragon spun on his heel and headed toward the door.

Jack couldn't let Ianto leave like that. "Ianto."

He stopped, but didn't turn. "Is there something else I can get for you?"

The captain couldn't lie to himself. Something had been off with Ianto for weeks…no, for months. The dragon had been slowly withdrawing, as well as developing an almost pathological hatred for anyone human. Only certain people were allowed in…and increasingly that hadn't been Jack anymore. Tosh had been right, that night in his office: he was in danger of losing Ianto, and Jack didn't want to do that. The dragon meant far too much to him, even if he was afraid to admit it. And even if it was his fault for pushing him away in the first place.

"How are you, Ianto?" The moment the words were out of his mouth, Jack cursed himself silently for asking such a lame question.

The dragon still didn't turn, but Jack could tell he was surprised by the question in the sudden shifting of his feet. "I'm fine, Jack. Why wouldn't I be?"

That was the very question Jack really wanted to ask, but didn't know how to phrase it to get a proper answer from his Second. "Come back in and have a seat."

For a split second Jack was afraid Ianto wouldn't do it, but the dragon turned and took the chair opposite the desk, sitting stiffly with his feet flat on the floor and his hands curled in his lap. He reminded Jack of someone about to be reprimanded.

"We don't really talk anymore," Jack began.

But Ianto cut him off. "We really don't have anything to talk about."

He was shocked at that response. "We used to talk all the time."

Ianto shrugged one shoulder. "We used to do a lot of things, but we don't anymore."

Jack took a good look at his Second…who he also considered his friend. Ianto looked tired; there were dark circles under his eyes, and his skin was paler than usual. His eyes were showing their age, and there was something akin to pain in them.

_You did that_, was the accusing thought.

"Is there…is there anything I can do to help?"

The dragon started at that. "Why would you think I need help?"

"You don't look well," Jack answered. "Look, I know we've had our problems, but I'm still your friend."

Not for the first time Jack wondered just what he'd done when he'd let Ianto follow him from Ddraig Llyn. He knew _why _he'd let Ianto come; because, for one of the very few times in his very long life, someone had believed in him. Someone had trusted him, even knowing Jack's secret. And Jack had seen that Ianto would truly understand what it meant to be immortal…or as close to immortal as either one of them could be.

But the dragon had changed. The caring creature who trusted his heart was vanishing, being replaced by someone who seemed to just be going through the motions. And Ianto had made it perfectly clear that the only reason he was still there was his loyalty to Jack himself.

It made Jack wonder just how long that would last. Finally it hit home just what he was doing by pushing Ianto away, instead of simply embracing him as a trusted friend and ally. He knew though, that just being Ianto's friend would have been asking for trouble, and he didn't want the dragon any closer, out of fear that he'd be able to wear down Jack's resolve to leave with the Doctor when it was time.

There was a look of disbelief in Ianto's ancient eyes, swiftly covered up by a frosty coldness. "Is there anything else you needed? I do have work to do."

Jack stifled a sigh. It seemed it might be too late, after all. "No, that's all."

Ianto stood. "Then I'll get back to it."

The dragon had nearly made it to the door when Jack called him back once more. "I'm still planning a team bonding at the pub tonight."

Ianto turned, but didn't look Jack in the eye. "I won't be able to come, I'm afraid. Colonel Mace from UNIT has requested a phone conference for tonight."

"Call him back and cancel."

"No, Jack. I won't. We need to be on good terms with UNIT, and you know it. I won't put this off any longer than it has to be, and a pub crawl isn't a good enough reason. But, I'll join you all when I'm done, all right?" He didn't look thrilled about that capitulation.

"Will you be training Gwen in liaising with UNIT and the Home Office?"

Jack didn't miss the flinch at the inquiry. "No I won't. She's not ready." His voice was harsh with the denial. "She's barely ready to work with the local coppers, I'm not about to set her loose with any other agency and have her undo all my hard work in getting them to actually _like_ us."

It was Jack's turn to flinch. It hadn't escaped his attention that, at the last crime scene they'd had to take over, the locals hadn't been happy dealing with Gwen. He'd been completely surprised at the level of respect the police showed to Ianto, despite the dragon's self-proclaimed anger at the human race. And added to that Tosh's comments about the police asking after Ianto at the Ed Morgan scene, and Jack was starting to think that making Gwen liaison might have been a mistake.

"Jack," Ianto said, "while I appreciate you finally clearing the air with Gwen over just what my duties are here at Torchwood, I'm not about to bend over backward for her. She needs to earn her place, it cannot simply be handed to her. And, right now, her earning that place doesn't appear to be very likely." He held up his hand at the first sign that Jack was going to say something. "Now, I know you had your reason for hiring her, but don't expect me to like it. I still maintain she doesn't belong in Torchwood, and until she proves me wrong I'll continue to hold the same opinion. Now, I have work to do. If you need anything I'll have my comm. on."

With that, Ianto turned and practically marched from the room, leaving an upset Jack in his wake.

Jack wanted nothing more than to hit something. Ianto didn't even seem to be giving Gwen a chance. He'd hoped that the dragon would see Gwen as another human worth fighting for, but instead he appeared to be determined to dislike her.

But then, there were times when he thought he couldn't blame Ianto for it. Gwen had gotten completely the wrong impression about Ianto's position within Torchwood – although, he had to admit to fault in that – and they'd started off on the wrong foot. He'd pulled Gwen into his office after his conversation with Toshiko, and had told her that Ianto was Second, and that she needed to stop treating him like she was his superior. Jack still remembered the disbelieving look on her face, but she'd agreed to show more respect. If there was one thing Jack had learned over his acquaintance with Ianto Jones, was that if you respected him, then he would respect you in return.

Well, that didn't appear to be happening, and Jack knew exactly where the rest of the team stood on the issue of Gwen Cooper. It did seem that Owen was thawing out a bit, but Tosh…well, if it bothered Ianto, it bothered Toshiko. There had been a time when Jack had thought there was more between them than just a good friendship, but that turned out not to be the case. He would have encouraged it if there had been, but he wouldn't have liked it.

It was a contradiction: he pushed Ianto away in order not to get too close, and yet when the dragon showed any sort of closeness with someone else it bothered Jack. If he didn't know better, he'd say he was jealous. Jack didn't do jealousy; it just wasn't in his make-up. He was from the 51st century, after all.

_But you've lived most of your life in the 19__th__ and 20__th__ centuries_, that traitorous voice whispered to him again.

He stifled it, and tried to go back to work.

* * *

><p>The paperwork eventually got put aside for a rousing game of basketball, with even Myfanwy joining in at one point. Jack simply enjoyed the time with his team, their shouting and laughing echoing through the vast main room of the Hub. They were playing for rounds at the pub, and Jack just let himself completely relax into the give and take of the game.<p>

It was times like this they were truly a team. It didn't matter how new Gwen was, or what their differences were…they were a team. Jack tried to ignore the fact that Ianto wasn't playing; he'd calmly demurred when asked, saying the sides would be uneven if he did join in. Then he'd headed down toward the Archives, and a stab of guilt had hit Jack, and he let himself get lost in the game in order to keep from thinking about his Second, alone down in the lower levels.

"First round's on you, Harkness," Owen laughed, as they finished the game. "Girls, get your handbags. Let's collect Tea-Boy and get the hell outta here."

"Ianto's not coming with us," Jack said. "He's got a conference call with UNIT, but he says he'll be along as soon as he's done."

"Well, that's just bollocks," Owen said, disgusted. "He should tell them where to shove it."

"I tried to tell him that, but he wouldn't listen."

Toshiko looked concerned. "I can stay with him – "

"C'mon, Tosh," Gwen looped her arm through the Japanese woman's. "Jack said he'll be along."

She still looked uncertain, but let herself be led through the cog door and into the corridor beyond. Owen traded a quick look with Jack that said something the captain couldn't quite read, then followed the ladies out.

Jack collected the basketball, setting it out of the way on the sofa. Then, with a last glance toward the entrance to the Archives, he left the Hub.


	7. Legacy of Canary Wharf  Chapter Three

The Legacy of Canary Wharf - Chapter Three

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, which is a real shame.

Author's note: Here is the next part of "Legacy of Canary Wharf". I do hope you enjoy it! And thanks to everyone who have been reading and alerting. I do love you guys, you make me want to post.

* * *

><p><em><strong>25 September 2007<strong>_

Ianto stood in the shadows, watching as the team left to go to the pub. He'd been observing them as they played, seeing the camaraderie between them and feeling as if he were standing on the outside, looking in. It was disconcerting, because up until that point he'd felt he'd belonged, even if he didn't seem to be getting along with two of those team members at the moment. It strengthened his resolve to get Lisa the help she needed and then return to Ddraig Llyn. He didn't want to spend any more time in the human world than he needed to.

He realized that he'd miss them. A part of him didn't want to leave, wanted to stay and try to work things out with Jack and to go to the pub with Owen and to sit around his house and watch movies with Toshiko…and maybe even get to know Gwen better. He wanted to have tea with Estelle, and to swap barbs with Kathy Swanson.

It struck him just what he was giving up. He may not much like humanity, but he did have friends that he'd be leaving if – no, when – Dr. Tanizaki helped Lisa. He had to weigh the ephemeral against the eternal. All his planning against confessing all and hoping his friends could help.

The dragon shook himself. No, he couldn't do that. Torchwood was responsible for what had happened to Lisa, and while he knew Three was so much different than One, there was still that part of him that didn't trust Jack to do the right thing.

Ianto felt his eyes begin to burn with unshed tears. He'd once trusted Jack with everything, including at least one way to kill dragon-kind. He'd even given Jack the sword that had killed his mother, and shown the captain how to use it against him.

But now…after everything, that trust was gone. Only Ianto's loyalty was keeping him in Cardiff, and he was about to betray that loyalty. He could so easily blame it on so many things, but in the end Ianto knew this was as much his fault as it was anyone else's.

It was time to forget and start over, with one of his own kind and not an immortal captain who didn't hold the dragon in the same esteem that Ianto held him.

Ianto turned and headed back down into the Archives. He'd managed to get Lisa into his hoard room early that morning, through a tunnel from the sewers that only he and Jack had known about. It was a dangerous way to go, with Weevils and all, but not for a dragon. Ianto could take it easily, and he had.

He reached into his pocket for his mobile, texting Dr. Tanizaki to meet him on the Plass. They'd arranged the place when Ianto had gone to pick the scientist up earlier in the afternoon, also using the sewer tunnel to get out of the Hub without anyone seeing. No one had noticed, which suited Ianto just fine. They didn't seem to notice him much when they thought he was working in the Archives.

He would have just enough time to check on Lisa before the doctor arrived.

She was just where he'd left her, curled up on the pillows he'd set up ages ago in the large room he'd designated as his hoard. Most people seeing it would assume some sort of greed on Ianto's part, but that wasn't the case; hoarding for dragons was in their nature. Ianto had used a part of his hoard to buy his house in Cardiff, and the rest that he'd brought with him from Ddraig Llyn had been set up in this room, away from prying eyes.

Lisa raised her head at his approach. Her dusky skin had a grayish sheen, and her dark eyes were dull with pain. She tried to smile, but it was a weak effort.

The metallic abomination that had been implanted in her head was visible through her shorn hair.

It made Ianto sick to see it, but he tried to hide it by returning her smile. The ephemerals had done this to her; it would have been different if she'd been taken by the Cybermen, because they at least were programmed to do what they did. Humans though…humans chose to perpetuate their horrors on others. It wasn't something they were controlled into doing. No, it was of their own free will that humanity performed their atrocities on their fellows.

"How are you feeling?" he asked gently.

"Tired," she answered. "Is it almost time?"

"Dr. Tanizaki is on his way. As soon as he's here, I'll come and get you. I'm sure he'll want to use the medical facilities for his initial examination."

"Good." She lay back down. "I'll be glad when this is all over."

He would be, too. This had gone on too long, and his betrayal was weighing heavily on him. The sooner they were away, the better.

Ianto left her, in order to meet Tanizaki and to bring him down into the Hub.

"Thank you for coming, doctor," Ianto said as he ushered the Japanese scientist into the Hub. "Are they looking after you at the hotel?"

"Passably," the man answered, looking around the Hub in surprise. "This is fantastic!"

Ianto took the case that the man was carrying. There was something about Tanizaki that, upon meeting him for the second time, made him uneasy. He pushed down the feeling, knowing he was here to help Lisa, and that they needed him to release her if he could.

It occurred to him that he wasn't trusting his heart as his mother had often told him to do, but he'd done that before and where had it gotten him?

The walk down to the hoard room was done in silence. Ianto took a key from his waistcoat pocket – he always locked the door after he left – and turned to the man before inserting it into the lock. "I've done everything I could," he said, opening the door. "But I don't have the technical and medical know-how to do much of anything but keep her company and take care of her bodily needs."

Tanizaki walked into the hoard room, and Ianto heard the soft gasp as the ephemeral took in the riches that lined shelves against every wall. He knew what it looked like to humans: a treasure cave, glittering with gold and precious stones and other such priceless items. Ianto knew the hoarding instinct didn't exist within the ephemerals, and would only see wealth beyond imagining.

Lisa had sat up among the pillows and quilts in the middle of the room; her dark eyes were watching Tanizaki closely, distrust evident in them. Ianto knew how she felt; having him here wasn't right, and yet they had no choice.

"This is Lisa," Ianto introduced, motioning toward the woman. "She's the one we've asked you here to see."

Tanizaki moved forward, seeing the ugly metal thing attached to Lisa's skull. His eyes widened, and he turned back to Ianto. "You were correct, Mr. Jones," he said. "This looks like a control device. How did it come to be attached to her?"

Ianto's eyes met Lisa's, and he knew they'd have to be as honest as possible if they expected the man to help them. "She was…a prisoner," Ianto answered slowly. "The people who held her attached that to her as an experiment."

The scientist sat down on the floor next to her. He removed a penlight from his pocket, flashing it into her eyes. "I'd like to ask you some questions. I am Dr. Tanizaki. I specialize in the Neurological Sciences. Your friend, Mr. Jones, asked me to come – "

"We decided together," Lisa said, her voice as firm as it could be. "I did the search, and when we found you we talked about it."

Tanizaki nodded. "Your name is Lisa?"

She nodded.

"How old are you?"

Her eyes flickered toward Ianto, and he nodded. If they hoped to get that damned device out of her head, he knew they would have to be honest. There was always Retcon afterward if needed.

"I'm…one thousand and twenty-six years old," she said quietly.

Tanizaki froze. "You're what?"

"Lisa and I aren't…human," Ianto put in. "We were born on Earth, but of a different race. I have all the medical information we have on hand for you to look at."

The doctor looked from him, to Lisa, and then back again. "I find this situation very improbable, but I believe you. After all, I've also heard of Torchwood, and I once did some consulting work for them. As long as I have the records I need."

Ianto wasn't surprised by that; in fact, one of the questions he and Lisa had asked him was about Torchwood. It still bothered him, but he ignored the niggling doubt.

He turned back to Lisa. "What is the last thing you remember?"

"Pain," she answered quietly. "I remember…they were trying to get me to do something, and I couldn't, and the pain in my head…but then, darkness until Ianto saved me." She smiled up at him, gratitude in her eyes.

Ianto returned the smile. "I was just glad I found you."

"You say there's a place where I can work?" Tanizaki asked, standing.

Ianto nodded. He reached down, and picked Lisa up. She weighed next to nothing, her chill skin clammy under his hands.

The trip up to the medical bay was done in silence. Lisa's soft breath brushed his cheek as Ianto carried her up into the main part of the Hub, her arms draped loosely around him. He was worried about letting the scientist have access to such high-tech equipment, but it was all to help Lisa, and Ianto was selfish enough not to want to be alone anymore.

He carefully laid her down on the metal examination table, as Tanizaki bustled around the room. Ianto once again wondered why he hadn't asked Owen for help, but then the medic wasn't a specialist, not like Tanizaki. It wasn't that he didn't trust his teammate to do his job, only that Ianto thought this particular job was beyond him, as did Lisa. And he didn't want to risk the only other one of his kind left.

Tanizaki began asking for things; Ianto fetched them, knowing where Owen kept everything in the medical bay. Then he took scans of Lisa's head, and while Ianto knew quite a bit about technology he wasn't a scientist, but he could see how the metal box was attached: thin tendrils had been inserted into her brain and were linked to the box itself.

It made him sick to see it.

The dragon had no idea how long Tanizaki's examination had gone on, but eventually the Japanese man stepped back from the table. "I've…seen this sort of technology before," he said, "and it's an elegant piece of work."

Ianto swallowed against the bile that rose in his throat. The man was actually praising the criminal who'd made the thing that was keeping Lisa weak and ill? He barely held down the urge to drag the ephemeral away from her, to kill him and hide his body in the vaults where no one would ever find it. But Ianto took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "Can you remove it?"

Tanizaki nodded. "It's surprisingly simple. I can do it now. I'll need my case."

Ianto fetched it from where the man had left it. For the first time in the months since Canary Wharf he actually felt hope, and it lightened his steps as he brought the brown attaché case back to the doctor. He helped Lisa move into the position that made it easier to get to the mechanism that was preventing Lisa from returning to her natural form, as Tanizaki pulled several miniature tools from inside, including what looked like a pair of cuticle scissors.

"You're going to feel some tugging," he said dispassionately.

"All right," Lisa whispered. She was shivering, and Ianto wished he'd have brought up one of the quilts from the hoard room.

"All I ask," Tanizaki said, "is that I get to keep the device when it has been removed."

Ianto nodded. He didn't want that thing around either of them.

As the ephemeral began to work, he kept nattering on about how he'd always thought that dragons was myths, and how he'd never even considered meeting one, let alone two. Ianto let him talk, the words washing over him, all his attention was on the woman lying on the table. Her eyes were tightly closed, and her hand had reached out to him instinctively. Ianto had taken it, the coolness of the flesh feeling wrong against his palm, but knowing soon her natural body heat would grow once more. He would help to feed her internal flame when they arrived home.

A sudden alarm sounded, breaking him from his thoughts. He let go, ignoring her small whimper, he practically ran to Tosh's desk. What he saw made his heart stop.

"Can she be moved?" he demanded.

Tanizaki didn't look up. "I'm nearly done – "

"We need to take her back down to the hoard room," the dragon ordered. "My teammates are coming back, and she can't be found here."

Without waiting for approval, he scooped Lisa up into his arms once more. Trusting that the ephemeral would follow, Ianto practically ran back to the level of his hoard. Placing her back down amongst the pillows, he headed back out to meet the team. "I'm going to lock you in," he said. "Finish up and I'll be down in a little while to let you out."

Tanizaki looked affronted at the idea, but nodded. "I should be done very shortly."

"I can already feel it, Ianto," Lisa murmured, awe in her voice. She looked better even then; her skin was more of a natural tone, and her eyes sparkled.

He smiled at her. "Just rest here, and I'll be back. Then we can leave."

Ianto felt so much better than he had in so long as he made his way back up toward the main area of the Hub. Soon, they could go home, and together they could make a life for themselves away from Torchwood and the hateful ephemerals. The mortals of Ddraig Llyn could be trusted to protect them, even from Jack.

There was still that doubt: the one that said he was betraying Jack, and that nothing good could come of it. But hadn't Jack betrayed Ianto already? Why shouldn't the dragon repay the kindness?

Ianto was just heading up into the main Archives when a horrible scream echoed down the corridor from where he'd just come.


	8. Legacy of Canary Wharf Chapter Four

The Legacy of Canary Wharf - Chapter Four

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine, and that makes me sad.

Author's note: Here is the next chapter of this part. Thanks to everyone for reading, I can't say that enough. There are two more chapters of this, after this chapter, then we start on the Dragon-Verse version of "Countrycide". Hope you enjoy!

* * *

><p><em><strong>25 September 2007<strong>_

Jack looked at his watch for the third time in fifteen minutes, letting his mind wander from the rather animated conversation his teammates were having and onto the subject of his Second.

It had been a little over an hour since they'd left the Hub, and Jack had expected Ianto before now. Surely his UNIT call couldn't be taking this long? Sure, some of the UNIT brass could be a bit long-winded, but Mace was one of the few Jack got along with, and from experience the man liked to get things done with no idle chit chat or blowhard chest pounding. He just couldn't see any phone call lasting this long.

Which meant that Ianto wasn't coming.

He took a drink of his water, trying to also drown the feeling of hurt at the thought that Ianto had lied to him about joining them. He really should have expected it, from the dragon's distancing himself from the team…and from him. Jack should have been happy about that, that his pushing Ianto away was actually working, but he wasn't.

Feelings were just too damn complicated.

For the very first time in the years they'd known each other, Jack was considering telling Ianto just what he was waiting for, and why he couldn't afford to get any closer. Maybe if the dragon knew about the Doctor and Jack's own need for answers, he'd be all right. And maybe they could get back to the friendship they'd had before Jack had given into his desires and had taken Ianto to his bed.

But no. Jack couldn't do that. It would mean telling Ianto that he fully intended to leave when he did find the Doctor. He didn't want to risk the dragon trying to change his mind about going. If Jack was honest with himself, Ianto would have a very good chance of that.

A sharp beeping pulled him from his thoughts. He glanced over at Tosh, who was rooting around in her bag. She pulled out her PDA, checking the reading. "UFO sighting over Cardigan Bay," she reported. "Seven calls to emergency services."

"Can we at least finish our drinks?" Owen asked, almost petulantly.

"Sure," Jack answered. "Take ten seconds."

He swallowed the last of his water, while the others did the same with their own drinks. He was secretly glad of the alert; it meant he could now legitimately go back to the Hub and check on Ianto.

The others kept up their conversation as they walked back. Jack kept half an ear on it, as the girls argued with Owen about who got to drive the SUV. He wanted to join in, but his mind wouldn't drop the subject of Ianto Jones.

He was going to have to do something. He only hoped he hadn't completely burned all his bridges with the dragon.

* * *

><p>The main Hub was empty.<p>

Jack was disappointed. Ianto must have gone home, instead of joining them at the pub. Somehow, he felt it was like the last nail in the coffin of their relationship – or whatever it was they had – even as he was giving orders to check on the supposed sighting. It didn't take them long to figure out what was going on.

"That's a UFO?" Gwen asked, staring at the fuzzy object on one of Tosh's screens.

"Arkan leisure cruiser, first generation," Jack answered absently. "Collector's item, you don't see many of them around these days. Tosh, send out a polite message saying great to see them, but could they please get the hell out of our atmosphere, they're spooking the locals."

Toshiko was already typing. "Done," she said, giving Jack a sly grin.

"Shouldn't we be apprehending it?" Gwen asked.

Jack was a bit bothered by the question. "No point. They don't mean any harm."

"Sides," Owen put in, "Arkans are mostly liquid. They'd make a hell of a mess."

Jack opened his mouth to say something, when a very faint sound reached his ears. "Did anyone else here that?"

The other three looked at him strangely. "Hear what?" Gwen asked.

He cursed his better than average human 51st century hearing. "It sounded like a scream, deep underground…Tosh, pull up a scan of the lower levels…"

Tosh turned to do so, as Gwen said, "You must have been hearing things, Jack."

"No," he answered. "I know I heard something." He was suddenly afraid that it had been Ianto he'd heard, and that he'd been injured somehow. He knew nothing could really do that much damage to the dragon, but there were alien artifacts that they didn't know what they did, and he could have been hurt by one…

"Jack," Tosh's voice drew his attention. "Look."

He turned to see what she'd found, and his heart began to race.

"Two signals?" Owen asked.

"And a third…look." Tosh pointed out yet another heat signature, this one running back toward the two others. "Two of these are a lot hotter than average, at least according to the scans." She glanced at Jack, and he could read the question in her eyes.

Jack looked at the schematics on her screen. The two presences were in Ianto's hoard room. One of them was human normal…although it seemed to be fading a little. The other…Ianto had a higher temperature than humans did, plus the blob was larger.

But, if the larger signal was Ianto, then who was the warmer signature currently running toward the room?

"I think we're under attack." It was the only thing that made sense. "Security's been breached." Jack pulled his Webley from the holster at his waist, and headed down toward the entrance to the Archives. "We assume battle protocols."

"That's impossible!" Toshiko cried. "Nobody can get in without triggering seven separate alarms!"

"Yeah, well it looks like our system needs to be upgraded!" Jack's thoughts were racing. He knew the one heat source – the one in the hoard room – had to be Ianto. The dragon would be the only one with a reason to be there. But the others…he couldn't even guess.

"I'm coming with you," Owen said, checking his own gun.

"So am I," Gwen said.

"No Gwen," Jack ordered. "Stay up here with Tosh. I don't want anyone alone in the Hub until we figure out what's going on."

Gwen looked like she wanted to argue, but simply nodded instead.

Jack took off, running down through the Archives and toward the hoard room. He prayed that Ianto was all right; but wondered, if the dragon was under attack, why he hadn't called for help? Jack thumbed on his comms. "Ianto? Ianto, I need to hear those beautiful Welsh vowels…"

There was no response.

He couldn't tell if his heart was beating so fast because of the exertion, or out of fear. Ianto was down there, alone and in danger. If anything happened to him…

No, Jack couldn't think that way.

He and Owen turned the corner to the hoard room…and saw Ianto standing outside, his hands on the door.

Jack had never been so relieved in his life. "Ianto!"

The dragon turned at Jack's call. The captain immediately noticed his Second's too-pale face, his blue eyes wide. He opened his mouth to say something, but a sudden loud thump against the door at his back stopped him.

Jack was confused. If Ianto was outside the door, then who was the large heat signature inside?

Through the small window in the door, something dark moved. Jack's hands tightened on his weapon, as Owen cursed quietly.

"Ianto," Jack said, trying to stay calm, "do you know what's going on?"

Suddenly, a voice came from behind the door. "Ianto? Are these your ephemeral friends?" A large dark eye, slitted like a cat's, appeared at the tiny window. "There's something…different, about the one, though. He stinks of Time."

Jack shivered at the voice. It was obviously feminine, with the same growling undertones that Ianto's gained when he was transformed into…

A dragon.

There was another dragon behind that door.

"That's impossible," he whispered.

Ianto's head came up, a calm mask slipping over what had to have been panic on his features. "I assure you, it's very possible."

"Bloody hell," Owen gasped, as he came to the same conclusion. "I thought you said you were the only one left!"

"Where did she come from?" Jack had the feeling he wouldn't like the answer.

"I found her," Ianto answered, almost proudly. "She was a prisoner of Torchwood London. I rescued her from Canary Wharf. They'd experimented on her…tortured her. And then put this…device on her that trapped her in human form for _years_."

Jack's heart clenched. How had Yvonne Hartman gotten ahold of a dragon? And to have forced one to keep human shape for so long…Ianto had told him how it felt to go without transforming into his dragon form for a long period of time, saying that it could get uncomfortable. But to remain in one for that long, Jack knew it had to have been yet another type of torture.

"How'd you get her past me and Suzie?" Owen asked.

Ianto barked a laugh. "Suzie was too interested in scavenging whatever tech she could get her hands on. And you were busy flirting with the 'cute UNIT birds', I believe is how you put it. Besides, it was simple to mix her in with the injured, and then smuggle her back to Cardiff."

"Has she been here all this time?" Jack was appalled. If Ianto had managed to hide another dragon for months in the Hub itself and he hadn't noticed –

"No, I've kept her at my home, until today. I've been taking care of her."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Jack didn't like the pleading tone in his voice, but he just couldn't understand why the dragon hadn't come to him, or to any of the team.

Ianto lifted his chin. "I should have thought the answer to that would be obvious. I didn't trust you, Jack."

That was like a slap in the face, and Jack reeled as if physically struck. Tosh's words from that night came back to him, and Jack realized that she'd said something too late: they'd already lost Ianto. He'd chosen to betray the trust that Jack had put in him…but it was only because Jack had betrayed Ianto's trust first.

"And I'm sorry, Owen," the dragon turned to the medic. "I thought about coming to you, but I couldn't risk it getting back to Jack. Also, I thought what had happened to Lisa was beyond your own knowledge."

"You can still trust me, Ianto," Jack murmured. "I wouldn't have done anything to hurt either of you."

"But you have hurt me," the dragon snapped. "You act like you're so alone, that you have no one. But you're so determined to push everyone away, when you don't have to." He waved his hand toward Owen. "You're surrounded by your own kind, Jack. Everyone around you is human, you can connect to them…but you choose not to."

He took a deep breath. "But I'm the only one of dragon-kind left…or I thought I was until Lisa. I would never have the intimacy of another being…would never speak my own language or be able to relate to someone like myself. To…never be able to perform the mating flight with someone I…love."

The pause before the word 'love' was barely there, but Jack noticed it. His heart sank. Had Ianto meant…

"And then there's…" Ianto swallowed, his eyes flickering toward Owen, then back to Jack. Jack knew what he wasn't saying: _We're both immortal, we had this in common, and yet you still pushed me away._

Then the dragon straightened. "All we want to do is leave. Lisa still needs time to heal, and the best place to do that is away from ephemerals. Please Jack…if we were ever friends, just do this for me. Let us go."

Jack's mouth opened then closed, and opened again, but nothing would come out. It felt like his life was falling apart, in a way he'd never thought possible. Ianto wanted to leave…and Jack knew it was his fault.

"If…if that's what you want," he finally managed to get out past the regrets that were bombarding him like a hailstorm.

Ianto's head bowed, and he let out a shuddering sigh. "Thank you." The dragon turned to the door, twisting the key in the lock and throwing the door open. "Come out, Lisa."

The other dragon was gone, replaced by a small, dark-skinned woman with hair cut close to her scalp. She was wearing an old-fashioned nightdress, and her feet were bare. "It's safe?" she asked tremulously.

"Yes, we're free to go," he answered. Then he looked around her. "Where's Dr. Tanizaki?"

"He's still in there," she answered, and Jack could swear there was a gleeful tone to her words.

"Who's Dr. Tanizaki?" Jack demanded, remembering the third heat signature they'd gotten on the scanners.

"He's the scientist Lisa and I found," Ianto explained. "He was the one who freed Lisa from the thing that had been attached to her head."

Jack sighed. They'd have to Retcon him, of course. "Let's take care of him, then." He stepped around Ianto and Lisa, entering into the hoard room.

What he saw had him calling for Owen.

The remains of a human lay crushed near the middle of the room. Owen darted past him, cursing loudly. The captain heard Ianto asking Lisa why she'd done it…

And the sudden, loud clanging of the door as it was swung shut. The locking of the door had the sound of finality about it.


	9. Legacy of Canary Wharf Chapter Five

The Legacy of Canary Wharf - Chapter Five

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, because I would have treated it better

Author's note: Sorry this has taken so long, but real life has done it to me again, and then for some reason FFN wouldn't let me post anything, it kept timing out. Thanks for being patient, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Next should be up in a couple of days.

* * *

><p><em><strong>25 September 2007<strong>_

One moment, Ianto was facing Lisa, asking her why she'd killed Tanizaki.

The next, she'd given him a shove that surprised him with its strength, and the heavy metal door was being shut, the lock clicking closed.

He slammed himself bodily into the door, and if he'd been any normal human he would have damaged his shoulder. "Lisa!' he shouted through the small window. "What are you doing?"

He could see her moving beyond the door, and then her mouth was up against the opening. "You want to know why I killed him?" she asked, almost in a sing-song tone. "I'll tell you…because he was one of the ephemerals who created that _thing_ they put on me. No, he was never actually present when they tested it, but I heard them mention his name in between screaming for mercy, and they gave him credit for the original idea."

Ianto stopped breathing in shock. _No…_

"It wasn't easy to find him," she went on, "but I did. You left me with the computer, remember? You thought I might be bored on my own during the day, and I used that time well. He was mine the moment he answered our email. He was the only one I could make pay for what they did to me."

"You've had your revenge," Ianto said, desperately. "Let us out, and we can still leave. We can still go home!"

"But I'm not done yet," she answered, the pout in her voice evident. "There's a whole world full of ephemerals out there who don't deserve to live." She paused, and Ianto could hear her breathing against the door. "Come with me," she whispered. "We can each have our vengeance on the humans who've hurt us."

"Any humans who might've done us harm in the past are all dead," Ianto replied, his heart in his throat. "Those out there are innocent. They haven't done anything to us!"

He was well aware of the irony of his words. He'd spent so much time blaming ephemerals for the hurts done to him that he'd grown to hate them all, even including his own teammates in a way. And now, he was trying to convince another dragon that they were worth saving.

Lisa laughed. "I've heard you disparaging human-kind, Ianto. You know you don't believe that."

"Yes, I have. But I'm not about to kill them. I only wanted us to go home." He leaned his face against the cold metal, needing to get through to her.

"It's your home, Ianto. Not mine. Now, I'm going to leave this place. You have a choice: come with me, or stay with the humans who don't understand you, and the one who's rejected you. I would never do that; you know that, don't you? I'd stay with you for eternity, willingly mate myself to you. I know you want that," she broke off, and suddenly the first dragon-tongue he'd heard in a millennium whispered from her parted lips…it was his name, his true name, one he'd never told anyone else but her.

Oh, he did. He wanted that more than anything, to be able to share his long life with a mate and children and to finally be understood. He could imagine a family, living at peace in the mountains around Ddraig Llyn…

"Ianto."

The familiar voice broke into his reverie, and he turned to face Jack, who stood just behind him. Jack's hands were in his pockets, and he was looking at Ianto so poignantly that it nearly brought tears to Ianto's eyes. Why couldn't Jack have looked at him like that before they'd found themselves in this situation? Why had he waited so long?

"Don't go," Jack murmured. "You're not a bloodthirsty killer. You might not like us, but you respect us. You respect what we do, to help this planet. And you know everyone deserves to live. You've seen far too much death not to."

This was his choice: Lisa, who was like him and yet obviously damaged by her experiences; or Jack, the man he loved and yet couldn't have. He'd thought he'd already done just this, by helping Lisa out of the wreckage of Canary Wharf and by keeping her very presence secret from Jack. He'd thought that he'd been completely rejected by Jack, that he'd chosen an ephemeral woman over an eternal dragon, the one being who could understand what living forever really meant. The man steadfastly remained alone even when he didn't need to, and he hurt all those around him by doing so.

And then there was Lisa; the last of dragon-kind save himself, who'd been through so much, had seen so much hell, and who he'd believed had come through unscathed…only he'd been wrong. Now, she wanted revenge against people who were long dead, and was willing to take it out on anyone who got in her way. She was willing to turn her back on her own peaceful upbringing in order to destroy those she thought had done wrong by her, and thought that he felt the same as she did.

There was no choice, really.

"Let me out," he answered. "I'm coming with you."

The shock on Jack's face was horrible to see. But Ianto couldn't let it get to him.

He knew what he had to do.

"Bloody hell," Owen swore. Ianto had almost forgotten he was there. "You're gonna betray your friends for a murderous, nutcase dragon?"

Ianto surged forward, grabbing Owen by the throat and throwing him against the wall. "Shut up," he growled, letting his eyes change into their slitted dragon form. "You have no right to talk about her like that! You have no idea what she's been through…what _we've_ been through! You have no right to judge!"

Ianto felt hands on his shoulders, pulling him away from the slowly choking medic. "Stop it!" Jack snarled. "You'll kill him!"

He managed to get Ianto off Owen, pushing the dragon away. The anger and hurt was palpable in every movement Jack made, and all Ianto could think of was how he wished he could somehow make this better.

Ianto stepped back toward the opening door. He slipped through, pulling it shut behind him and leaving the two men locked inside. He looked at Lisa; she was practically radiant, her smile lighting up her beautiful face.

But now, Ianto could see something off about the expression. He barely managed to suppress the shiver. "Come on," he said, taking her now-warm hand. "I need to get something, then we can go."

Hand in hand, they walked up toward the main area of the Hub. Ianto didn't want to think; didn't want to even consider what was going to happen now. It was bad enough that he'd betrayed Jack…

Halfway there, the Hub went into lockdown.

Ianto knew he had Jack to thank for that, certain that the captain had contacted Toshiko through the comm., warning her of their approach.

"What is that?" Lisa asked worriedly.

"They've put the Hub into lockdown," Ianto explained. "Don't worry, I can override it."

She smiled up at him once more, and Ianto returned it, his heart hammering so hard in his chest he wondered why she couldn't hear it.

The work area was empty. Jack would have warned Gwen and Tosh even as he ordered the lockdown, and he was glad they weren't in sight. Ianto sat Lisa down on the sofa. "I'll be right back," he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead, his stomach feeling like it was being torn apart by rats.

Without a backward glance, he made his way to Jack's office, to the Secure Archive. Jack had trusted him – trusted him! – with the code years ago, and it took only moments to open it and find what he was searching for.

It was a simple-looking blade, perhaps two and a half feet long including the leather-wrapped single-handed hilt. It was pitted and worm, a well-used yet decently maintained weapon.

It had been wielded by the so-called knight who had killed his mother.

Ianto stared at the blade. He couldn't help it. The sword might not have looked like much, but it had been bathed in the blood of a dragon, and that tainted the weapon. A single tear fell onto the metal, and it was only then that Ianto realized he was weeping.

He slid it back into its plain sheath, buckling the ancient leather belt around his waist. Dashing the tears from his eyes, the dragon turned and rejoined his other, where she waited for him.

Lisa's eyes narrowed as she took in the sword. "Why do you want that?" she demanded, standing up, every movement defensive.

Certainly she knew what it was; Ianto had shared with her the gory details of his family's massacre. "A memento…nothing more," he said. "I couldn't leave it here."

"I think it's a bit gruesome carrying around the sword that killed your mother," she retorted, taking a step away, out of range.

"It…helps me remember," he answered. "My mother always told me I should follow my heart, that I should trust it above anything else." He hadn't been doing that lately, and he was now seeing that his mother may have been right all along.

"You said you can lift the lockdown?" Lisa prompted.

Ianto nodded, stepping toward Toshiko's computer. He used his command code to bring up the lockdown program, mentally grinning as he realized just how good Toshiko was; Jack must have given the order that his codes be deactivated.

He felt Lisa come up beside him, watching as he tried to hack the program. She was so close, he could feel her body heat through the layers of his clothing. She was now within reach.

And Ianto spun, grabbing Lisa by the throat, using every bit of his strength to hold her still while he drew the dragon-killer from its sheath.

He caught her by surprise. Lisa was stunned into immobility long enough for Ianto to arm himself, and to get the sword up and aimed toward the soft spot under her left armpit.

But that was all the advantage she gave him.

In a sudden burst of golden light, Lisa changed into her dragon-form.

Ianto was thrown backward into Tosh's desk, the impact almost making him lose his grip on the sword. She loomed over him, her black sinuous body taking up almost all of the space between the desk and the medical bay. "How dare you," Lisa hissed. "How dare you turn against your own!" Her head darted forward, and it was all Ianto could do to dodge those vicious teeth.

He landed awkwardly, but managed to keep his grip on the sword. There was only one thing he could do to counter her, and to protect himself from her claws and flame.

Ianto triggered his own transformation.

The area was a bit cramped for two fully grown dragons, but Ianto was hoping it wouldn't matter. He leapt at her, wanting to overpower her quickly. He managed to pin her to the floor using his rear legs and tail in an attempt to immobilize her, grasping the sword as best he could in his own large, clawed hand, knowing he would have to strike just the right place in order to kill her outright.

Despite everything, he didn't want her to suffer needlessly.

Lisa hissed and spat under him, desperately trying to wriggle out of his grip. Ianto pressed his claws into her flanks, needing to hold her down just long enough.

And then, the opportunity presented itself, and his target was clearly visible.

Ianto pushed the sword deeply into the unprotected skin of her underarm, slamming it in as deeply as he could.

Lisa shrieked in agony, a deep shudder nearly knocking Ianto off where her struggles hadn't. A quiet "Why?" escaped her lips as Lisa passed on.

Ianto Jones was, once again, the Last.

He rolled away, and then gathered her up into his arms, vaguely aware of her blood on his claws. He roared his agony to the invisible sky, not noticing when the rest of the team gathered around him.

His song echoed through the Hub, as his heart broke once more.


	10. Legacy of Canary Wharf Epilogue

The Legacy of Canary Wharf

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, although I wish I did

Author's note: This is the last part of this story, I'm glad you liked it! Up next, is The Pact, the Dragon-Verse version of "Small Worlds".

Thanks to everyone who have read this, and have reviewed and alerted and such. Now, I do want to warn you that this chapter might not be exactly Gwen-friendly, although I have been told that her behavior is in character.

* * *

><p><em><strong>26 September 2007<strong>_

"Jack."

Jack started, glancing up from his work. Gwen stood in the doorway of his office, and the look on her face told him this wasn't a friendly visit.

He stifled a sigh. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone right now. "I thought I sent you home," he said, barely civil. He turned his attention back to what he was doing: cleaning the sword that Ianto had used to kill Lisa.

_Dragon-killer_, Ianto had called it the day he'd given it to Jack. He'd shown the captain one way to kill him, trusting Jack with that knowledge. _In case of emergency_, the dragon had also said. Then he'd shared where it had come from, and it had been the first time that Jack had actually cried in front of the dragon.

"You did," she answered, and Jack was irritated that she hadn't taken it as the dismissal he'd meant his comment to be. "I wanted to talk to you."

"Say it fast. I'm tired. It's been a long night." It had taken hours to get everything cleaned up, once he'd managed to cajole Ianto back into his human form and had had Tosh take him home with her. He'd looked terrible; eyes far too large in his pale face, reddened and so full of pain that Jack hadn't been able to look into them. After he'd been bundled off, unresisting, and Gwen had been ordered to leave, he and Owen took care of Lisa's body and that of the scientist, Tanizaki.

"I wanted to talk to you about Ianto," Gwen said, coming to stand in front of Jack's desk.

Jack looked at her, resting the sword on the old towel he'd draped over his knees. She had a belligerent look on her face, and he knew this was about to get ugly. "What about Ianto?"

"What are you planning on doing with…him?"

The hesitation in her sentence made him roll his eyes. "I'm planning on giving him bereavement leave, and when he's ready he'll come back to work."

Gwen looked surprised by his response. "But Jack…he's an alien! I thought we caught aliens!"

Suddenly, it struck Jack that Ianto had been correct in not telling her about his being a dragon. "No, Gwen…Ianto is a dragon. He was born on Earth, and so were his parents and grandparents. Hell, he can trace his family back almost a million years." He smirked. "Remind him to tell you how the patriarch of his clan decided to teach early humans about fire sometime…it's hilarious."

Jack's attempt to lighten the mood didn't seem to work. Instead, she speared him with an angry glare. "You mean, you knew about him and didn't say anything?"

Jack frowned. "First of all…yes, of course I knew. It's one of the reasons I hired him." _In a roundabout way_, he thought to himself. He wasn't about to explain the Tarot girl to Gwen; she wouldn't understand. "Secondly…it's up to Ianto whether he wanted to share that fact with you, which he'd decided not to."

"And the others?"

"They know about him, yes."

"Then why didn't he tell me?"

"Oh, I don't know Gwen," Jack snapped. "Maybe it's because he's known them for years, and you've only been here a couple of weeks? Or maybe because he had some inkling that you'd act exactly like this?" Well, he couldn't be certain of that last one, but the explanation Ianto had given still confused Jack a bit. "Or perhaps it's because you've insisted on treating him like part of the furniture, instead of my Second, and your superior?"

Gwen's eyes went wide, then narrowed. ""He's just a kid, Jack. He hasn't earned the right to be in charge."

Jack laughed. "A kid? Gwen, that so-called kid is over two thousand years old. He's the one who helped me build Torchwood up to what it is now. He watched my back during Yvonne Hartman's three attempted takeovers. And, if anything happened to me, he is the one I completely trust to run this place the way it needs to be run. So get off your high horse, Ms Cooper, because Ianto Jones is my right-hand man, and nothing is going to change that."

"But that's just it…he isn't a man. He doesn't deserve to be here, especially after what happened last night."

The captain put his polishing cloth down on his blotter, where he'd set his sword cleaning kit. "And what do you think happened here last night?" He was interested in her interpretation of events, because he was certain that she hadn't seen what the others – and Jack himself – had.

Gwen lifted her chin stubbornly. "I saw him smuggling a dangerous creature into the Hub, a creature that would've killed us all if it hadn't been stopped."

"Well," he said, re-sheathing the dragon-killer and leaning it against the side of his desk, "let me tell you what really happened then, shall I? I saw someone so desperately lonely for one of their own kind that he was willing to do anything to save the only other one he'd seen in centuries from what we humans had done to her. I saw him realize that he'd failed, and I saw him kill her instead of letting her escape. I saw him tear his own heart out in the process. _That_ is what I saw, Gwen. I saw a good being practically destroy every dream and desire he'd ever had in order to save us."

The look on Gwen's face was disbelieving. "You have got to be kidding me. You're going to excuse what he's done, just like that?"

Jack sighed. She wasn't even trying to understand. He had to give her some benefit for not knowing Ianto's history, the way he and the others did, but certainly she had to have seen just how much pain Ianto had been in last night. "I would have thought, with all that so-called compassion you claim to have, that you'd have been the first person to see just what it did to Ianto to kill Lisa last night."

She reared back, as if he'd physically slapped her. "Of course I feel badly that he lost someone – "

"No, Gwen. I don't think you do." It struck him suddenly. "You're just angry because you didn't know Ianto's secret. That I'm willing to forgive him. That I don't promote you over him. He's somehow damaged your dignity and you don't like that."

"That's ridiculous!"

"Is it? Is it really? Gwen, that 'creature' as you put it, was a young woman who was captured, tortured, and experimented on by human beings. Ianto saved her from Canary Wharf. He did everything in his power to help her – "

"But he hid her from us!"

"Yes, he did. And I'll be the first one to admit that it was my fault he did." It had been an almost painful epiphany for Jack, to know he'd so completely lost Ianto's trust that the dragon hadn't come to him about finding Lisa. All of this might have had a better ending if Jack hadn't done everything in his power to keep Ianto at arms' length. That knowledge was something he'd have to live with, and he hoped he'd be able to rebuild what bridges he'd burnt.

"How is that your fault?" she scoffed.

"That doesn't matter." He didn't want to share with her his own feelings toward Ianto. "But what you don't know is that Ianto Jones is the last of dragon-kind. There are no more like him anywhere. Human beings were responsible for that genocide, Gwen. And yet, he's chosen to leave his home and fight to protect the descendants of the very people who murdered his family." He picked up the sword. "This weapon was the one that killed his mother. He kept it as a reminder of just how evil humanity can be. Tell me honestly…would you be willing to fight for someone who killed Rhys? Or your parents? Would you be willing to put that aside for the greater good?"

Gwen simply stared at him. "I'm sorry Jack, that may be true but that doesn't excuse the fact that we have a creature working here that could have caused the deaths of every one of us."

"But it does."

They both turned, to see Tosh standing in the doorway, her arms crossed and her face stony with anger.

Jack put the sword down again and stepped around the desk. "How is he?"

Tosh's face crumpled. "He's gone, Jack. He left a note, saying he was going home."

Jack had to fight the urge to rub the pain in his chest away. "Did he say he'd be back?"

She nodded. "But I don't think he should be alone, Jack. He's in so much pain…

He gathered her into his arms, trying to give her comfort that Jack himself couldn't take. This was his fault. He'd pushed Ianto away, and now he was gone without saying goodbye in person. "We just need to give him time, Tosh."

"I know," she whispered. She clung to him for a moment, the pulled away, her eyes going to Gwen. "I can't believe you think you're the heart here," she accused. "If you were, you'd have been helping to comfort your teammate, instead of stabbing him in the back."

Gwen looked shocked at Toshiko's tone. Jack could understand; his quiet computer genius didn't often let her temper loose, but she was fiercely loyal to her friends, and chief among those was a certain dragon.

"I think you should go home, Gwen," Jack suggested, although in tone it was more an order. "Go spend the day with Rhys. Think about what you have, and what others have lost. Remember, don't let it slide."

She looked like she wanted to argue, but Jack wasn't going to deal with her anymore. He turned his back on her, putting his arm around Tosh and leading her to the chair opposite his desk. He leaned against the edge, so he could be closer to her. "You going to be okay?" he asked her quietly.

Toshiko nodded. "It's just hard, you know? He's my best friend and I can't help him."

There was an audible huff, then Jack saw Gwen turn and leave. He'd never felt more relieved. "I know, Tosh." He sighed, raking his hands through his hair. "I really stuffed this up, didn't I?"

"I wish I could say no, Jack…"

"No. If I hadn't alienated him, then he might have come to us when he'd found her. It wasn't that he didn't trust you and Owen, it was that he didn't trust _me_."

She laughed sadly. "When I started here, there was one constant I thought would never change: Ianto's belief in you."

"I miss it, Tosh. I miss _him_. How am I going to make this up to him?" He'd had a lot of time to think about what Ianto had said, and he'd had to admit to himself that the dragon had been absolutely right in his assessment of Jack's 'aloneness'.

"I think, right now he's afraid that you won't forgive him for betraying you. He…told me what happened in the hoard room." She looked down at her hands, which were twisting in her lap.

Jack reached over and covered them with one of his. "No, I was the one who betrayed _him_." He leaned back, snorting a laugh. "Sure, for about a minute I was in shock at his leaving with her, but then I realized that he knew I knew how to get out of that room. He knew I'd get out and follow them." It was a safety measure on the door: a small toggle just under the interior lock, that would open the door from the inside in case anyone got trapped inside. It had been one of the things that Ianto had liked about the large chamber when he'd been trying to decide where to put his hoard. He hadn't cared about being locked out…but being locked in by accident would have been embarrassing, he'd maintained.

Shaking his head, Jack said sadly, "I would have done it for him if he'd let me."

"I'm sure he knows that." Tosh grasped his hand in hers.

They stayed like that for about a minute, then Jack took his hand back and stood up straight. "We just need to give him time," he said. "He'll go home and mourn, and then come back."

"I just wish he hadn't left before I woke up."

"Maybe he thought you'd try to talk him out of going?"

"Maybe." Tosh shrugged. "I do think I would have reminded him that he didn't have to go through this alone." She stood. "I'm going to get some work done. I know you gave us all the day off, but I need to do something to keep my mind occupied."

Jack nodded. "Don't work too hard," he cautioned. "And leave when you feel like it."

"I won't…and I will." She stood, smiling slightly. Then she frowned. "We're going to make this all right, aren't we?"

He pulled her into another hug. "Yeah, Tosh. We're gonna make this all right."

It was a vow he was determined to keep.

She was halfway to the door when Jack called her back. She turned, looking at him expectantly.

He thought about what Ianto had once said…about trust. He remembered that night, standing on the Millennium Center roof, discussing Gwen's hiring and matters of trust. He'd tried to bully Ianto into trusting Gwen…and he'd refused. This morning, Jack had gotten a glimpse as to why.

But the dragon had also pointed out that Jack had known Toshiko and Owen a lot longer than he had Gwen, and that he'd never told them the truth about his immortality. Of course, Gwen wouldn't have known if she hadn't seen Jack resurrect, but the captain hadn't told him that.

If Jack could claim to trust Gwen with his secret, why couldn't he do the same with two people he's known for years?

Trust – or lack thereof – was what had caused the mess last night.

It was time Jack trusted. And he could start, now.

"Tosh, there's something I need to tell you…"


	11. Anniversary

Interlude – Anniversary

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, though I wish I did

Author's note: Okay, I lied. I forgot about this little interlude I wrote about Ianto being home after the events in Legacy of Canary Wharf and I wanted to post it it before The Pact. It's just a short thing, and I hope you like it.

Thanks, everyone!

* * *

><p><em><strong>1 October 2007<strong>_

The dragon sat on his high rock, looking out over his valley. Not much had changed in the seven years since he'd left, and he took a deep breath of the cold mountain air, just enjoying the peace of the moment.

He'd been home for only four days, and while the surroundings were comforting and familiar, he was still far from well. He sighed, resting his snout onto his crossed forelegs, eyes sliding shut as grief rolled through him. _She would have loved it here,_ he thought, and then dismissed it; Lisa had been far too gone to appreciate the quiet.

It was obvious, with the knowledge that hindsight brings, that she'd been ill far more in mind than in flesh. He should have expected it, after everything she'd been through. But he'd hoped, and that hope had vanished the moment she'd killed Tanizaki. With that loss had come the knowledge that she'd planned it, that she'd picked the scientist because of his somewhat tenuous involvement in her own capture and torment. That same torture had driven her mad.

He'd done the only thing he could have.

It had long been a law that dragon did not kill dragon, and he'd broken that law in order to save ephemerals…and his team. It had been the most terrible choice he could have made, and now he mourned her as only a dragon could.

But Lisa wasn't the only thing he was mourning.

He'd betrayed Jack, and he wasn't sure how he could fix that. It was the one thing he'd thought he'd never do; he honestly believed in Jack, despite everything that had occurred. But the trust…that had gone, and honestly Ianto couldn't pinpoint the specific moment that he'd realized that he didn't trust Jack anymore. It went even beyond the hiring of Gwen Cooper, and the insulting way Jack had integrated her into the team. No, this began long before current events.

It saddened him, because that wasn't how he wanted to feel.

If he'd just had some sort of reason for Jack's behavior; there were times when they were so close, and others where Jack wouldn't talk to him for days unless it was to give him some sort of order. On the best days, they were friends…on the worst, they were indifferent employer/employee.

The dragon really had no idea what to expect next.

Behind his closed eyelids, pictures danced and teased. Memories of good times; beginning their work at Torchwood Three; their talks as they sat on the roof of some tall building, looking down onto a sleeping city; their few intimate times when Jack would teach him just how responsive his human form was to pleasure.

Invariably, his mind would start to dwell on the bad, as well. The arguments over nothing; the times Jack completely cut him out; the evidence that Jack had been out on the pull. His disregard of the dragon's position within the team; his showing off to their newest recruit. That scene on the gun range, that had not only embarrassed him, but also Toshiko and Owen. It was just too much.

He was considering not going back. Would he be able to turn his back on what he thought of as his duty? He was having a crisis of faith, and he didn't know if he could regain it.

He opened his eyes quickly, to dispel the images that danced in the dark of his thoughts. Unfurling his wings, he stood and launched himself from his perch, reveling in the updrafts that swirled around his valley. The dragon began circling down toward the village, seeing it from his high vantage, his powerful eyesight making out the shape of the townsfolk as they went about their business. They reminded him that there were humans worth fighting for; not so the supposedly human Gwen Cooper, who'd so far not shown as much of that vaunted humanity that Jack had seen in her. He remembered quite vividly how she'd looked at him as he'd mourned over Lisa's body, in complete contrast to the others, who had seen a teammate in agony and not some sort of bizarre creature.

The dragon swooped lower, landing in the town square. No one even batted an eyelid as a massive green dragon stood in their midst; and that didn't change as he transformed into his human shape. He loved the freedom of Ddraig Llyn, where he didn't have to hide who he was out of mistrust of what others thought or did.

Ianto walked toward his inn. The _Green Dragon_ had been his for centuries, when he'd given it by the human family who'd taken care of him after his family had been murdered. The Joneses of Ddraig Llyn had been in the village for even longer, descended from the very high priests who'd once worshipped his dragon family. The large stone building was as close to a mortal home the immortal dragon had, and he cherished it.

"Ianto!"

He turned at the calling of his name, toward the front desk where Rhiannon Davies was waiting. She was the last of the original Jones family, and when she'd married Johnny Davies she'd lost her birth name. Now there were no more Joneses left, and it saddened him that he would be the only one to carry the name now.

There was a large bouquet of flowers sitting on the desk. "So," he said dryly, "did Johnny finally develop a romantic bone somewhere in his body?"

Rhiannon rolled her eyes. "Not hardly," she said tartly. "They're for you."

Ianto froze. Who would be sending him flowers? He looked closely at the bouquet, sitting in a cut crystal vase, a splash of color against the dark wood of the desk. It was made up of fall flowers, yellows and oranges and reds, and it smelled wonderful.

"Aren't you going to read the card?" Rhiannon asked, looking far too interested for Ianto's peace of mind.

Ianto plucked out the white card that poked up from within the colorful blossoms. "Why do I get the feeling you already know who it's from?"

She tried to look innocent, and failed. "All right," she admitted, "but it's only because Becca was the one to make up the arrangement, and she delivered it."

That made sense, since Becca Williams owned the only place in the village to make such arrangements. Ianto smirked, using a finger to slip open the flap from the small envelope and pulling the card from within.

His mouth fell open in surprise as he read what was written on it.

_Happy Anniversary_

_Jack_

Anniversary? What was Jack talking about? Ianto was confused by it…and then it hit him.

He couldn't help but smile, even as upset with Jack as he was. It showed that Jack may actually be willing to forgive him.

"Thank you, Rhiannon," he said, gathering up the vase in one arm.

"OI!" she exclaimed as he walked away. "You're not going to give me any clue?"

Ianto smirked, but didn't turn. Instead, he gave her a jaunty wave with his free hand as he took the stairs up to his room on the first floor.

"You're an evil one, Ianto Jones!" she shouted after him.

For the first time in days, Ianto laughed. It felt good.

Once in his room – his old quarters having been taken over by Rhiannon and her family – Ianto put the flowers down, looking at them closely. He couldn't believe that Jack had remembered, when Ianto himself hadn't. Well, it wasn't something he really felt like celebrating…unlike Jack, who obviously had.

He went to his mobile, thinking about calling Jack…and then stopped, not sure that was a good idea. So much water had gone under the bridge of their so-called relationship, he really needed more time to think before talking to the captain again.

He did check voice mail….and found one from Kathy Swanson.

Ianto listened to the message, frowning at the DI's tirade. He sighed; only gone a couple of days and things were already going to shit.

The dragon quickly rang her back. "What can I do for you, Detective?" he asked once she'd answered the call.

"_Jones!"_ the woman exclaimed, sounding relieved. _"Well, you can tell Himself to keep a leash on that bloody former PC of his and give you your job back!"_

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry, I'll talk to him but I'm out of town at the moment…"

"_Then what she said was true?"_

"There's no telling what she said, Detective." He didn't even need to ask who 'she' was.

"_One of my men asked about you, and Cooper about took a strip off his hide. Then she said you were gone and weren't coming back."_

Ianto's heart froze. Gwen thought he wasn't coming back to Torchwood? Did Jack think the same thing? Yes, he'd told Toshiko that he would be back; and yes, he'd been thinking about not doing that at all, but he'd actually admit to it and not run out on them without notice.

In that moment, Ianto found one reason to go back to Cardiff…to spite Gwen Cooper.

"I can assure you, Detective, that I'll be back. I'm just on…bereavement leave at the moment – "

"_Oh shit,"_ Swanson sounded upset. _"I'm sorry! If I'd known I wouldn't have bothered you – "_

"It's fine. I did tell you, you could call anytime."

"_But not when you're on leave! I really am sorry…for ranting at you like that, and for your loss."_

He could tell she was sincere, and it reminded Ianto that there were good people away from Ddraig Llyn. "Thank you. Look, I'll talk to the captain and see if I can get him to get Gwen to back off. And please assure your men that I will be back, it just won't be for a couple of weeks."

"_You got it. Jones…take care. And I really am sorry about your loss."_

"Thank you again, Detective."

He rang off, sighing. Well, this gave him a reason to call Jack, above and beyond the flowers.

The line rang only twice before it was picked up. _"Harkness."_

Ianto's heart twisted painfully in his chest at the familiar voice. "Captain."

"_Ianto!"_ Jack sounded both happy and relieved. _"How are you?"_

"I'm…getting there, I think." Ianto took a deep breath. "Jack…thank you. For remembering, that is."

"_You got the flowers then?"_

"I did. But really, Jack? Flowers?" He tried to keep the laughter out of his voice, but he couldn't. Ianto couldn't believe how good it was just to hear Jack's voice, and how much he'd actually missed him despite their estrangement.

"_I understand it's a tradition to give flowers for an anniversary!"_

"But I'm a male…and a dragon. I refuse to be thought of as a female."

"_Stereotyping, Ianto? I would have thought better of you!"_

The dragon couldn't help but laugh at the mock outrage in Jack's voice. Gods and goddesses, it felt so good to be speaking to the immortal. "And you're a day late if you were thinking about the day we actually met."

"_Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a delivery to someone on a Sunday? And it was a toss-up between the day I met you as a human, or the day I met you as a dragon. When it came down to it, I realized it didn't matter, since you're the same either way."_

Ianto felt warmth creep through his chest at Jack's words, then tamped it back down. He'd betrayed Jack, and Jack had betrayed him. He didn't have the right to be pleased that Jack had actually thought about the day he'd walked into the _Green Dragon_ and had asked for a room.

But he couldn't just turn his feelings off. Jack might have been able to, but Ianto couldn't.

"_You okay?"_

Ianto shook himself, realizing he'd been quiet too long. "Sorry," he answered. "I was just lost in thought."

"_Ianto,"_ Jack said, sounding hesitant, _"I know we have a lot of work to do, but I think you're worth it. I really want to try to make things up to you."_

"I…Jack, I feel the same way. I'm sorry for betraying you – "

"_No, don't be sorry. You did what you had to do. I'm only sorry that I failed you."_

"I rather think we failed each other."

"_You…could be right. But I've given some thought to a few things you said, and you're right, especially about keeping things to myself. I…told Tosh and Owen about my immortality."_

Ianto almost fell off the bed in shock. He'd never thought Jack would, believing that their two teammates would somehow find out on their own eventually. "How did they take it?"

"_Tosh took it well. Owen yelled at me, but he was more upset that I was hiding a medical condition from him, than anything else. I should have trusted them not to look at me like I'm some sort of freak."_

"Jack, I'm really proud of you." He was. This was a big step.

There was silence on the line, and just when Ianto was going to speak up and ask Jack if he was all right, the man spoke again. _"You don't know how much it means to me that you feel that way." _The dragon could hear the gratitude in Jack's voice. _"There's something else I want to tell you, but I'd rather do it in person. You…are coming back, aren't you?"_

"Yes, maybe in a couple of weeks. I still need some time."

"_Take as much as you want. We'll be waiting for you when you get here. And then, we'll have a talk."_

"All right." He paused. "Oh Jack…you might want to tell Gwen that."

"_Gwen?"_ Jack sounded confused. _"What does Gwen have to do with you coming back?"_

"She apparently told one of DI Swanson's constables that I wasn't."

Jack cursed. _"I guess Swanson called you about it?"_

"She did. She asked me to ask you to 'keep a leash on that bloody former PC' and for you to give me my job back."

"_I'll take care of it. When you get back, I also want your help with her training. We're going back to the system that works."_

Ianto couldn't believe what he was hearing. He'd never expected Jack to take his words to heart. "Sounds good."

There was a sudden bustling in the background. _"I need to go, got a Weevil alert in Splott. Or should I call it Sploe?"_

The dragon rolled his eyes at the blatant teasing. "Then you should get going, Sir."

Jack chuckled. _"I'll talk to you soon. And take care."_

Jack hung up, and Ianto snapped his phone closed. Maybe they can get past this after all.

He certainly hoped so.


	12. The Pact Chapter One

The Pact - Chapter One

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I want to own it so badly, but that's not happening.

Author's note: Okay, so here's the first chapter of the next story, based on the episode "Small Worlds". This part is ten chapters long, and I do hope you enjoy it. Thanks to everyone once more, for reading and reviewing and all that good stuff. You guys are fantastic.

* * *

><p><em><strong>25 October 2007<strong>_

"Ianto! Please, come in!"

Estelle Cole smiled up at him, holding the door open so the dragon could enter. Ianto returned her smile; she was quite one of his favorite ephemerals, with a true love and respect for the world and its creatures.

She ushered him into the lounge. "It's been a while! Can I get you some tea?"

"Please," he said, sitting on the sofa. Moses, Estelle's cat, promptly jumped up to join him, curling up in his lap and purring like a freight train. Ianto rubbed him somewhat vigorously, and Moses purred even louder. "I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately…"

Estelle bustled about, and he could hear the sound of tea things rattling in the small kitchen. "That's fine," she answered, her voice raised a bit to be heard from the other room. "I know Torchwood can keep you busy."

Ianto grinned. Estelle Cole was one of the sharpest people he knew; she'd picked up on his and Jack's involvement with Torchwood almost immediately. And he wasn't going to get into her seeing through Jack's story about being his own father. How Jack had thought that would work was beyond the dragon.

"Actually," Ianto admitted, as Estelle re-entered the lounge with the tea tray, "something happened a while back. It's…taken me some time to get things sorted. In fact, I've been home for the last four weeks. I just got back yesterday."

Estelle looked at him closely. "I see…there are shadows in your eyes."

"I found another of my kind." He told her everything about finding Lisa, and what had happened, as they drank tea together and ate Estelle's wonderful almond cake.

"Oh, Ianto," she murmured, as his story came to a close. "How terrible." She got up from her own chair to join him on the sofa, putting her arm around him in an effort to comfort him.

Ianto accepted it, leaning into her embrace. He remembered the first time he'd met her; she'd played along with Jack's story about how he and Ianto worked together and had just been in the neighborhood, until the captain had left the room to use the loo. Then Estelle had calmly leaned over and told Ianto that she could tell that he wasn't human, and that he could trust her. He'd ended up confiding in her on his next visit, when he'd come without Jack. They'd been great friends ever since.

They sat that way for a couple of minutes, and then Ianto leaned away. "Thank you," he said, kissing her on the forehead.

"No need to thank me," she replied, going back to her seat. "What are friends for? But I don't understand why you didn't at least trust Jack with this. He'd have helped."

Ianto flinched. He really didn't want to speak ill of Jack to Estelle, but if anyone knew he faults, it was her. "Things haven't been that good between us for a while now. I…lost my trust in him."

Estelle narrowed her eyes. "Jack's been an idiot again, hasn't he?"

That made the dragon laugh. "Well, he wasn't the only one."

"Yes, but it seems to me you were only reacting to his stupidity."

"He's so frustrating! I just don't know where I stand with him."

"Ianto," Estelle said, sighing. "Jack cares a great deal for you. The problem is, he's afraid to. Now, I understand why he's like that with us mortals, but he shouldn't be that way with you. It could be that he's just not used to having someone around who might live as long as he will; or there could be something else going on, but I do know that he does care."

Once again, Ianto was struck by just how wise Estelle was. "You know, you should have been a dragon."

"Now that is the highest compliment you could give me!"

They both laughed, the dragon savoring his friendship with the woman. He'd seen almost at once why Jack loved her; she was so full of brightness and life, it was like being a moth drawn to her flame. "Anyway, I'll deal with things when I see him," Ianto went on.

"You haven't let him know you're back in town yet?"

"No, I wanted to get settled back in at the house first. I'm actually not due back to work until Monday. And, to be honest, while Jack and I have talked a couple of times over my leave, I'm…a bit hesitant to see him face to face, if you know what I mean."

"Of course I do. Look, I'm giving a talk Saturday. Why don't you help me out?" Her eyes sparkled. "You might even know the subject."

Ianto looked at her closely. "Let me guess: fairies?"

Estelle smiled. "You know me so well."

The dragon barely stifled a sigh. Estelle thought she knew what the Fae – or fairies – were, but she had about as much a clue as Jack had. Both of them saw the Fae in black and white terms, and Ianto knew it was much more than that. The Fae were a part of the warp and weft of the world, and were above such petty distinctions. But trying to get either one of them to see that…sometimes, when she and Jack had gotten into one of their 'discussions' about the fairies, Ianto had felt like he was trapped between two debaters who each had only half the facts, and who were determined not to believe what the other was saying.

But Ianto knew. His father had dealt with the Fae, and had passed on stories and lessons of the Lost Lands where the Fae were known to dwell.

"I saw them," Estelle went on, "in Roundstone Wood. They were dancing among the stones there." Her eyes were shining as she recalled the sight. "They were glowing, and their laughter was so joyous, they made me want to join them."

A shiver went down Ianto's spine, and his hand reflexively tightened in Moses' fur, causing the cat to meow plaintively. The dragon relaxed, and the pet went back to purring. "Estelle," he said slowly, "please promise me you'll be careful around them."

She rolled her eyes. "You're as bad as Jack."

_No, you are_, he wanted to say to her. Why neither one of them could understand what Ianto tried to tell them, he didn't know. "I'm just concerned, that's all."

"You don't need to be." She smiled sweetly. "I have new pictures, which I'll be debuting at my next lecture. Please say you'll come."

"Of course I will." He had no choice, really.

* * *

><p>Darkness was gathering by the time Ianto had managed to make it to Roundstone Wood. He parked his car on a side street, heading into the wood without even a flashlight, knowing his sharper sight would serve him just as well.<p>

If the Fae were active once more, there could only be one reason for it.

He strode through the trees, letting his senses guide him. Humans were limited in what they could feel; their sensations were grounded in the physical world. But for those few ancient races left – including dragons – the wood fairly breathed power: an ancient power, one that predated humans settling the land, predating even the separating of the continents hundreds of millions of years ago. Roundstone Wood was only the latest expanse to have grown up in this place, but it was so very old, the trees fairly whispering their secrets to Ianto as he made his way unerringly toward the center of this place's magic.

Jack scoffed at the idea of magic, resorting to Clarke's Law to explain such things that defied scientific explanation. Ianto had looked it up after the captain had used it the first time, and it had been Ianto's turn to scoff. Certainly he could understand what Arthur C. Clarke was referring to, and the dragon could also understand that there could very well be times when a technology would, indeed, be so far advanced as to seem like magic.

But there were still things in the universe that were so old, so powerful, and yet technology had nothing to do with them. There, under the darkening canopy of Roundstone Wood, Ianto could feel such a power, lying just beneath the surface of things, as if the physical world were simply a layer over the top of it, hiding it from view.

The Lost Lands.

The stones came into view, practically glowing in his minds' eye with the magic of Creation. His surroundings changed as he grew closer, as man transformed into dragon so did the land transform around him; from fire to ice, from sea to desert, from grass to forest. Ianto shook his wings free as he passed through all the long eons of the Earth, approaching stones that had been set by strong hands deep into the bedrock of the planet itself. This was a place where all times existed together, and the dragon felt Time shower against his scales like a golden rain.

He could see them. They perched in the trees, on huge chunks of glacial ice, floating on sea and riding the lava of now-vanished volcanoes. The Fae, darting half-hidden among tall grass and buried within deep sand, living in all times just as this piece of the ancient world did. They watched him approach the stones, glittering eyes trying to read his soul, to know his mind. He easily kept them out, his dragons' mind labyrinthine to them.

"_Why come you here, old one?"_

A larger Fae crouched atop one of the stones, and the dragon stopped before it, bowing his head in greeting. "I come to remind the Fae of the ancient Pact between your people and mine."

Laughter like dried leaves met his words. _"The Pact is gone and dust, just as your people are gone and dust. Do not bother us with this. Leave our lands."_

"The Pact exists as long as there is one of my kind, and one of yours," the dragon answered. "I call upon you to honor it."

"_What can one lone dragon-kin do to threaten us to uphold the Pact?"_ the Fae challenged.

The dragon arched his back, spreading his wings. He raised his head, speaking in the ancient language of earth and stone and power. The ground shook as the words were said, and the Fae shrieked in dismay.

"Do you seriously ask that question?" he replied, settling back on his haunches.

The large Fae hissed. _"The ancient tongue is dead, but we still obey. Name them."_

The dragon's heart began to beat faster as he recited. "Owen Harper. Toshiko Sato. Kathy Swanson. Gwen Cooper." He hoped they didn't notice his slight hesitation in Naming Gwen. "Estelle Cole." That name caused a chattering among the gathered Fae. "Jack Harkness."

Jack's name caused a near-riot among the Fae. _"No!"_ the spokesman shouted. _"Name him not! He yet owes for a lost Chosen!"_

"No, he doesn't," the dragon insisted. Jack had told him the story of his soldiers being killed by the Fae, back in 1909, during one of those times when he'd tried to convince Ianto that he was correct about the fairies. "You have punished those responsible for the death of the Chosen One. Jack Harkness had nothing to do with it."

"_They were his,"_ the Fae snapped.

"But they weren't acting under his orders. I Name him. You must stand by the Pact."

The Fae hissed once more. _"Agreed. And you must stand by the Pact as well. Only one to break it, ancient one. Only one."_

The dragon nodded. "Only one. It is agreed."

He turned and left, passing through the ranks of the gathered Fae, ignoring the looks of hatred he was receiving. They had to stand by the Pact; the power of it left them no choice.

The power faded the farther he walked, and without thinking he reverted back to his human form once more. Ianto made his way toward his car, the feeling of relief tempered by what he'd just done.

Only one.

It was agreed.


	13. The Pact Chapter Two

The Pact - Chapter Two

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood at all. Shame, really.

Author's note: Here is the second chapter of The Pact, my retelling of "Small Worlds". Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing, I do hope you like this chapter.

* * *

><p><em><strong>27 October 2007<strong>_

Jack jerked awake, the remnants of nightmare – memory – fading back into the mental box he kept such things in. He sat up completely, scrubbing his face roughly with both hands, knowing that if he was having _that_ particular dream once more that something bad was about to happen. He could still remember everything that had happened on that train, still smell the cloying scent of rose petals that overflowed from his mens' open mouths after their deaths; hear the rustling of wings and the soft music of alien laughter. He shivered, and it wasn't the chill of the Hub that had caused it.

He took several deep breaths in an attempt to regain control, and as he focused on his surroundings his heartbeat calmed and the adrenaline rush caused by his sudden catapulting from sleep slowly faded away. _That had been decades ago_, he tried to convince himself. If they were coming back, this time it would be different.

He wasn't about to get any more sleep, so he got up, showered, and dressed in trousers and t-shirt, not bothering to put on his usual overshirt and braces, knowing he would be alone in the Hub that late…or, according to his watch, that early. He would have committed gross bodily harm to the closest Weevil for a cup of Ianto's coffee, but the dragon wouldn't be back until Monday.

It would be a long weekend.

Sighing, Jack decided that it would be a good time to get some of the paperwork done that he'd let slide since Ianto had gone on leave, so his Second wouldn't be quite so put out with him when he returned. Jack had missed Ianto more than even he'd thought, and couldn't wait to see him again. The couple of times they'd talked on the phone had been friendly, with no uncomfortable silences. Jack had thought about traveling to Ddraig Llyn to visit, but the Rift had kept them all pretty busy, and besides Jack didn't want to bother Ianto, in case he wasn't wanted. He needed to give the dragon space to heal, and not push him.

Jack was determined to fix things between the two. He'd taken the dragon's belief in him for granted, and had ended up losing it. Jack had quickly realized just how much he needed that belief; the dragon had supported him through so much, and he just couldn't see himself carrying on without it.

The first thing he was going to do was come clean about the Doctor.

It terrified Jack. He had no idea how Ianto would react. But, if he was going to try to salvage whatever he could out of their relationship, then he had to tell Ianto that he was going to leave when he could catch up with the Doctor. If Ianto knew what to expect, then he could be better prepared for the changeover.

He rounded his desk, meaning to sit down and get to work…and saw the rose petal.

_They_ were back.

A noise came from outside his office, and Jack turned…to see Ianto standing there, looking as surprised as Jack felt.

"You shouldn't be here," Jack blurted. As soon as the words were out of mouth, he regretted them. He was almost pitifully glad to see the dragon there, dressed in casual slacks and a dark red jumper, holding a file folder.

"Neither should you," Ianto returned, sounding just as surprised. Then his body almost physically jerked. "I mean, you're usually off on a rooftop by this time of the morning."

Of course Ianto would know that. He simply looked at the dragon in man-form, not sure what the smile on his face said, but it was causing Ianto to blush slightly.

Although, if Ianto knew that Jack was prone to being gone this time of the morning, then that would mean he was in the Hub when he'd expected Jack not to be. The captain wasn't sure how to think about that, but it was smothered by the pleasure he was experiencing at being in Ianto's presence once again.

The dragon jerked again, this time actually moving himself toward one of the empty workstations. Ianto's long fingers danced across the keyboard, and he looked puzzled.

Jack joined him, slipping the rose petal into his pocket, and resting a hand on Ianto's back. The dragon tensed, then relaxed, glancing at Jack, then down, and then back to Jack again as if he couldn't make up his mind where he wanted to look. Then he turned back to the terminal.

Jack thought the whole thing was just cute…except that it bothered him that Ianto didn't know how to react to a simple touch.

"What have you got?" Jack asked, rubbing Ianto's back and shoulder, then letting his hand slide down the soft wool of the jumper.

Ianto looked like he didn't want to answer, but he finally sighed and said, "Funny sort of weather patterns."

The bottom of his stomach dropped, and Jack's fingers rubbed the rose petal in his pocket. He'd been right; the dream had foreshadowed that, and the petal hadn't been some innocent thing that had accidentally been left behind by one of the girls.

The fairies were back, and that could mean only one thing.

"You know." It wasn't a question.

Ianto nodded, turning in his seat to look up at Jack, his eyes hooded. "Estelle saw them," he answered. "I was…coming in to confirm."

"You saw Estelle?" Jack was inexplicably disappointed that Ianto hadn't come to see him first after he'd gotten back; but then, what did he expect?

Ianto nodded. "She saw the fairies. In fact, she's having a lecture today on them. I'd have thought she'd have sent you an invitation?"

It was Jack's turn to nod. He hadn't intended on going; it would just be yet one more of Estelle's attempts to convince him that he was wrong about the fairies. "Are you?"

"She asked me to help her. I said I would."

There was something in the dragon's voice that told Jack that that wasn't the only reason he was going. He wanted to press him for information, but the last thing Jack needed was to alienate Ianto any further. He'd let the dragon tell him in his own time.

"Jack," Ianto went on, "I know none of us agree about the Fae, but I honestly think we should stay out of their business. It can only end in disaster."

Jack bristled a bit. He and Ianto – and Estelle, since they only discussed such things when they were all together – had different opinions when it came to the fairies. Jack had been on the receiving end of their capricious wrath, losing his men on that train in Lahore. He'd seen first-hand what they were capable of, and knew they were an implacable enemy.

Estelle only saw the good in them; saw the glowing and dancing and glittering fairies of children's stories. She wouldn't believe they were able to perform evil, and would argue vociferously when Jack would try to explain to her what he'd seen. It didn't help that he couldn't actually come out and give her examples; that would mean disclosing his immortality to her. And, while he'd been perfectly able to do just that with his team – and he still chuckled over Gwen's upset that she no longer had a secret of his to keep to herself – he would never confess it to her. They'd made promises to each other back during the war; promises that Jack could not keep. The very last thing he'd ever wanted to do was to hurt and disappoint her.

And then there was Ianto. The dragon always maintained that he knew more about the fairies than they did, and would often try to get them to see reason. Jack knew that Ianto was much closer to nature than anyone else, but the immortal also knew that the fairies were beyond even that, and felt that Ianto was being nearly as naïve as Estelle was on the subject.

"You know what they want," Jack warned.

"Of course I do!" Ianto answered sharply. "They only become this active when it's time to find their next Chosen One."

"Then you're telling me that I should just let them take some poor kid?"

Ianto's eyes widened at Jack's tone. "You know as well as I that the Fae only take children who want to go with them – "

"They trick them into going with them!"

Ianto stiffened. "And how do you know that, Jack? Hm? How are you so sure that those children don't want to go of their own free will?"

That was the point; Jack didn't really know. But he knew the fairies, knew how powerful they were. "No one could want to go with them voluntarily."

Ianto rolled his eyes. "If that were true, then why aren't they kidnapping children right and left? Why aren't they snatching them off the streets? Tell me, Jack…the Fae are powerful. Why aren't they simply taking what they want?"

"How do we know they aren't?"

"Because," the dragon said slowly, "there wouldn't be a need for a Chosen One."

Jack opened his mouth to answer, but found he couldn't. Ianto was right. Something was keeping the fairies from just taking children whenever they'd wanted. "But that doesn't mean they still aren't somehow tricking impressionable children into going with them."

There was a flicker in Ianto's eyes that Jack didn't want to interpret as disappointment, but his conscience wouldn't let him dismiss it. This wasn't how he'd hoped their first meeting would go. He'd planned on taking Ianto out to dinner, and then to someplace quiet where they could talk.

This wasn't it.

"Look, Ianto," he tried to put things back on an even level. "I know there are things you know that I don't, but I have first-hand experience with the fairies. I know what they're capable of."

Ianto sighed. "And what makes you think I _don't_?" With that, he stood up. "Jack, I've lived for over two thousand years. I've seen things you can only imagine. The dragons have had dealings with the magical folk for so much longer than that. I just wish you'd trust me when I tell you that I know what I'm talking about."

The disappointment was even more obvious now, and Jack would have given anything not to have that look on the dragon's face. "Ianto," he said softly. "I don't believe in magic, you know that."

"I know." The dragon looked tired. "It's a shame. You claim to be such an open-minded individual, and yet you can't accept that there's such a thing as magic. I actually pity you, Jack."

Jack flinched at that. He and Ianto had gone round and round about the possibility of magic, which the immortal simply believed belonged in the realm of superstition. Everything that couldn't be explained by current science, was simply too advanced to be quantified at this time. Telepathy, empathy, and other mental abilities were genetic to certain races, and Jack wasn't unconvinced that dragons and other fantastic creatures weren't just created by advanced races experimenting with less evolved genoforms. Those people who believed that aliens had come to Earth in the far distant past weren't wrong.

The thing was, Ianto thought he was right. Jack couldn't argue with the dragon's personal experiences, only that he was seeing them in a completely different light than what was really true. It was how Ianto was raised; his parents and other sources of learning had been firmly bent toward the phantasmagorical end of the scale. And, while Ianto had taken to the modern world quite easily, and now knew his way around the science and technology that they dealt with every day almost on the same level as Toshiko, there was still that bit of naiveté that the dragon stubbornly refused to put away.

"I need to go home," Ianto went on. "I'm sure I'll see you at Estelle's lecture later."

He really wanted to stop the dragon from leaving. Jack would have given anything to know the right words to smooth things over.

The cog door opened, and Ianto left.

Jack didn't call him back.

Instead, he cursed himself at being such an idiot.


	14. The Pact  Chapter Three

The Pact - Chapter Three

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Don't own it, and I can't do anything about it.

Author's note: Hello, all! Here's chapter three of The Pact, my take on "Small Worlds". The response for this has been fantastic, and thank you all. Enjoy!

* * *

><p><em><strong>27 October 2007<strong>_

Ianto knew the moment that Jack arrived at the lecture hall.

He'd missed the feeling that being around Jack gave him, and he didn't mean the attraction. No, it was the magic – and wouldn't Jack hate it that Ianto called it that? – that made the captain immortal. Lisa had said that Jack stank of Time, but that wasn't all of it. The sensation was like having a fizzy drink poured directly onto a specific section of his brain, and while it should have been uncomfortable Ianto reveled in it. It gave him a connection to the captain that no one else had.

It wasn't like what he felt from the Rift. No, that was more like a sharp rain on his exposed skin, fading or growing depending on how active the Rift was. In fact, the Rift had been downright quiet since he'd gotten back into Cardiff days ago, and it was nice to ease back into the sensations that he'd lived with for almost seven years.

Feeling Jack now, Ianto wondered how he'd missed him early that morning, when he'd come into the Hub to see if there was any sign of Fae activity. He'd been distracted, surely; being back after nearly a month had felt almost like a homecoming of sorts, although not quite in the way that going home to Ddraig Llyn had been. He really hadn't expected Jack to be there, even though he was well aware of Jack's bunk under his office. Ianto was familiar enough with Jack's habits to know that he enjoyed watching the sun rise from one of the taller buildings in Cardiff, and he'd counted on the captain being gone when he'd come into the Hub that early.

He hadn't quite been ready to see Jack like that.

But even Ianto had to admit, that seeing Jack had felt…good. Even if they'd gotten into a disagreement not five minutes into their first meeting since the dragon had left. He should have expected it, really; bringing up the Fae was the quick way to get into an argument with the immortal, and Ianto hadn't been exactly subtle about it.

He leaned back in the rather uncomfortable chair, listening to Estelle as she spoke about her fairies. Her eyes had brightened considerably at the same time Ianto had sensed Jack's presence, so even if he hadn't been aware of it, Estelle's reaction would have given it away.

"I suppose I'm one of the fortunate few who's been allowed to see our little friends," Estelle was saying, as the photo on her overhead projector changed to show what Ianto knew to be one of the Cottingley glass-plate photos. "And it's been no easy task. One needs to have the patience of a saint and the blind faith of a prophet."

Ianto settled himself a bit more comfortably, looking closely at the picture on the screen. He knew the history of the Cottingley photos, and how they were supposed to have been faked. While the dragon hadn't been there to see events for himself, he sincerely doubted that they were, indeed, manufactured by two little girls.

"But," she went on, "for me the wait was worthwhile."

Estelle changed the photo, and Ianto sat up a bit straighter, recognizing the stones of Roundstone Wood. This must have been one of the new batch Estelle had mentioned to him.

There were obvious lights hovering above the ground. Estelle continued her lecture. "This is my first picture. Not that clear, I know, but the ring of stones can be seen quite clearly."

Another photograph came up, this one as close-up on the lights themselves. It was very blurry, but even Ianto could make out the vague outline of _something_ within the light itself. "Well, of course," his friend said, chuckling a bit self-deprecatingly, "I'm not the world's best photographer, but this little person is just about visible." She smiled happily. "I was so lucky to have seen them, so privileged to witness such a magical moment. Because fairies are shy, you see."

_No, not shy….devious…_ It was obvious that they'd wanted Estelle to see them, or else she never would have gotten that picture. Ianto wondered why…

"But I know in my heart that they're friendly, loving creatures." She turned the projector off. "Thank you."

The audience clapped politely, and the sound of chairs scraping across the hardwood floor accompanied everyone getting up to leave. Ianto also rose, joining Estelle at the table where she'd had her materials set up.

Ianto didn't want to dispel Estelle's romantic fantasy of happy little fairies dancing around toadstool circles, but they were anything but. Yes, they could be friendly…when it suited them. They could also be ruthless and cruel. She simply refused to see the bad on the other side of the good.

Like Jack…who refused to see the good beyond what he thought of as evil.

"That went well, didn't it?" she smiled, beginning to clear away her lecture notes. Estelle looked to the side, and Ianto didn't even need to see to know that Jack had joined them.

"Estelle, when did you take these?" Jack asked, taking a look at the new photos.

Ianto wanted to roll his eyes, since he'd been the one to tell Jack just when their friend had seen the fairies, but he refrained. He recognized Jack's 'nice interrogator' voice, and decided to see where the questioning was going to go.

"A couple of nights ago," she answered.

"Where?"

"In Roundstone Wood." Estelle looked at the captain fondly. "It's so good to see you again, Jack. You need to come round more."

That earned her a small smile. "You're right. It's just been a bit busy lately."

Ianto went about helping Estelle gather her things together, as Jack examined the new photos. He didn't look happy, but Ianto knew that was par for the course for him on this particular subject.

Estelle, though, didn't seem at all perturbed by Jack's obvious disapproval. "Oh Jack, if only you'd seen them, there in the wood. They were happy. They were dancing. The fairy lights were shining." There was such a look of rapture on her face that it almost made Ianto wish that he didn't know what he did.

"Do you have any more photos?" Jack asked.

"Yes, at home."

Jack gave her a small, intimate smile. Ianto suddenly had a small flash of jealousy, that he couldn't get that sort of expression out of the immortal. He quashed it back down; this was Estelle, after all. Besides, he had no right to be jealous of anyone in the captain's affections.

"I'll need to see them all, Estelle."

She nodded, matching his smile with one of her own.

* * *

><p>Jack helped Ianto unload all of Estelle's equipment from the trunk of Ianto's car. Jack hadn't said much on the trip, and Ianto was a bit frustrated by the silence. Not that he expected Jack to say much of anything beyond casual conversation, but he hadn't spoken maybe two words to the dragon while keeping his questioning of Estelle soft and gentle.<p>

Ianto leaned the fold-up projector screen against the wall, narrowly avoiding being tripped by Moses as the cat came out to greet them. He leaned over and picked up the cat, who proceeded to start up his motor-like purring.

Jack set the projector down on the table, juggling the books he'd also carried in until he got them stacked at least halfway neatly. Estelle had her own bag, which she put on the sofa. She smiled at them. "Thank you, both of you. Let me get those photos, although they're mostly just of the area." She collected Moses from Ianto. "Come on, darling. It's quite time you went outside." She bustled off, leaving Jack and Ianto alone.

The dragon gravitated toward the mantle, where the picture of Jack and Estelle had pride of place. He remembered the first time he'd seen it, and Jack's comment about it being his father. Ianto had known the truth, but it wasn't until Estelle had declared that she knew differently as well that the dragon had admitted she was right. He'd once encouraged her to tell Jack the truth, but she'd demurred, saying that if Jack wanted her to think that it had been his father all those years ago, then she wasn't going to disavow him of that.

"Ianto," Jack said hesitantly, "I – "

"That didn't take long, did it?" Estelle came back into the room, holding a sheaf of glossies. "Here you go. Like I said, there really isn't anything on them, but you're welcome to them."

Jack took them. "Promise me you'll be careful, Estelle. If anything happened to you – "

"Nothing's going to happen to me, Jack," she scoffed.

"You can't know that. They're dangerous."

"Jack, you only see the bad – "

"And you only see the good!"

"And you're both wrong," Ianto put in quietly, looking at both of them. "You're both so focused on what you've seen, that you won't look below the surface. " He turned to Jack. "Jack, you see bad, because your experiences have colored your perspective." Then to Estelle. "And you only the good, but that's what they want you to see. Why can't either of you accept that there are more to the Fae that meets your very mortal eyes?" He used the word 'mortal' on purpose, even though Jack wasn't that, not anymore. Yet he still relied on very mortal senses, and what those senses told him.

"It's not that I don't believe you, Ianto," Jack said delicately. "It's just that you haven't seen – "

Ianto felt his anger overwhelm him. He was so tired of this, especially when so much was riding on them taking his words to heart. "Seen? Jack Harkness, I'm over two thousand years old. I've seen things you wouldn't understand, or dismiss if you _had_ seen them simply because you'd think they were impossible. The Fae and dragons have had dealings since the first humans climbed down from the trees and thought killing each other with branches over pretty looking stones was a really good idea. I know what I'm talking about, Jack…do you?"

He said that last part with a bit more venom than he'd planned, and took a perverse pleasure out of seeing Jack flinch. He turned to Estelle, his expression softening. "I know what you've seen, but anything can hide behind a pleasant façade. They don't have any reason to hurt you now, but what you don't understand is that their good will can change in a split second, if they think harming you would get them what they wanted. At the moment, it pleases them to show themselves as the friendly creatures you believe them to be, but trust me…you cannot go on that appearance alone."

Ianto speared them both with his gaze, letting his eyes gain their dragon aspect. "You have no idea what's at stake here, neither of you. You're both so sure you're right, that you don't realize what you're seeing are actually two sides of the same coin. And that sort of thinking is dangerous. I don't mean dangerous in getting someone killed, although it may come to that. No, I mean end of the world dangerous. You're both meddling in something without even accepting that you could very well be wrong."

With that, Ianto spun on his heel and stormed out into the garden. He needed to get away from the atmosphere inside, even though he'd been the one to create that atmosphere in the first place. It was at times like this that he wondered just how humanity had managed to survive the way it had, because it certainly seemed to have the instincts of lemmings when it came to personal safety.

A tinkling laughter cooled his anger in a way nothing else could. Ianto looked, and saw the large Fae from the Wood looking at him, dark eyes glittering gleefully. _"They'll break it, ancient one,"_ the being taunted. _"They'll break it, and break your mighty heart."_

Ianto snorted. "I already know I'm supposed to get my heart broken, so you're not exactly telling me something new." He automatically dropped into the dragon-tongue, knowing that neither Jack nor Estelle would have been able to see his 'visitor' and not wanting them to eavesdrop, thinking he was talking to himself. The last thing he needed was for either of them to think he'd gone mad.

"_The Seer,"_ The Fae spat. _"You cannot trust her."_

"And I'm supposed to trust you?"

The Fae laughed again. _"Of course not. But you know one of them will break it, and when that happens – "_

"I know of no such thing," Ianto spat. "You cannot hurt them."

"_We don't have to hurt them." _

With that, the Fae vanished.

Ianto closed his eyes. He had to make them understand, or else what the Fae claimed would come true.

He couldn't risk the Pact being broken.

He had to do whatever it took for that not to happen.


	15. The Pact  Chapter Four

The Pact - Chapter Four

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, but I would have treated it better

Author's note: Hello! Here's the next chapter of The Pact. I hope you enjoy it! Thanks to everyone reading and reviewing, and adding this to alerts and favorites. You all are the best!

* * *

><p><em><strong>27 October 2007<strong>_

The silence in the car was very uncomfortable, and Jack knew he was to blame.

After Ianto's little blow-up at Estelle's, Jack and his former lover had simply stared at each other in the dragon's wake, uncertain of what to say. Ianto had actually made some valid points, and while Estelle might have been willing to brush the dragon's tantrum off – although there was nothing in her manner that suggested she would – Jack had considered what Ianto had said.

It made sense.

It wasn't quite enough to shake Jack's certainty that the fairies were evil. Intellectually, he knew he was painting an entire race with the same brush, but not having seen any actual good from the fairies it was hard to break the habit of a very long time. Plus, there was their taking of children, and Jack had enough of that in his own past not to let it happen again if he could stop it.

He glanced over at Ianto. The dragon's hands were grasping the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles white with the pressure. He was staring straight ahead at the road, his eyes darting a glance every once in a while into the rearview mirror, but otherwise Ianto completely ignored Jack's presence in the passenger seat.

Jack actually opened his mouth twice to speak, but each time stopped himself, the words not at all what he wanted to say. He really wanted to understand where Ianto's knowledge came from, and a part of him was disgusted that he'd disregarded the dragon yet again. He was beginning to really wonder why Ianto was still there.

Somehow Ianto must have sensed Jack's inability to come up with a safe subject, because after about ten minutes he said, "I apologize for letting my temper get the better of me."

"There's no need to apologize," Jack was quick to say. "I think you must have wanted to say all that for a while, now."

Ianto nodded. "I don't understand, Jack. You're aware that there are things I know that you don't, and you've never been shy about using my knowledge before. Why is this time different?"

"It's just…" Jack swallowed. He decided honesty was the best policy in this case. "I still see them, Ianto; my men, lying in that boxcar, choked to death on rose petals. It happened so quickly, I didn't even have a chance to protect them…"

"You couldn't have," the dragon sighed. "The Fae are very protective of their own. The moment your men killed their Chosen – even though it was an accident – they were marked for vengeance." Ianto paused, chewing his lip, looking as if he were considering something. Then he nodded slightly. "Let me ask you this: have you ever wondered why the Fae choose to ask children to join them?"

Jack hadn't really. He just knew the fairies took innocents with them, and it never crossed his mind that there would be a reason beyond just plain evil. He said so.

Ianto sighed. Jack thought he was about to get another lecture of how he wasn't seeing all sides when Ianto pulled the car to the side of the road, and turned off the engine. The dragon twisted in his seat, to look at Jack directly. "A little over 30,000 years ago, the Earth began to get colder. At first it wasn't so bad, and by the time the races on the planet realized that the northern ice was growing it was too late to really prepare for it."

Jack nodded. He was well aware of Earth's glacial periods, and wondered just what this had to do with the fairies.

"This really didn't affect us dragons all that much; you know how the temperature doesn't bother me at all." Jack did, and nodded once more. "But to the humans…it could have been a disaster to them. Most migrated to the south, but with the ice came drought in the southern climates. Several offshoots of humanity – like the so-called Neanderthals – finally did become extinct." He sighed. "Even then, the more advanced human ancestors knew of the powers beyond. There were entire tribes who were dragon-friends, and it was one of those tribes who asked a dragon what they could do to survive. That dragon told them of the Fae, who could control the weather and perhaps fight off the ice that was slowly taking over the entire planet."

Jack shivered. He suddenly had a feeling what was coming next, and when Ianto finally spoke he knew he'd been right.

"That was when the humans and the Fae entered into a Pact," the dragon said. "You have to understand something Jack: before science, there was much power in the natural world. I call it magic, but perhaps you might know it as something else, and it might make you more comfortable in calling it that. But power it was, and when a Pact is entered into it is made binding with that natural power. "

Jack didn't want to hear anymore. It was obvious what those early humans had promised the fairies for their help in saving their race. He didn't believe in magic, but he did understand the power that Ianto was talking about. He'd never considered it magical, though.

"The Pact was a simple one: The Fae would help to beat back the ice, and the humans would let them take certain children. Mostly these were abandoned ones, or abused by their elders. The Fae don't harm them; in fact, they actually cherish them more than the ones they're taken from. But yes, Jack…humanity gave the Fae their permission to do this. It's not the capricious desires of an ancient race picking on a younger one; this was what the humans agreed to. And they bound all generations in perpetuity to this Pact. The Fae have every right to do what they're doing."

It was insane, and Jack didn't want to believe it. And yet, it made sense in a twisted sort of way. "And what happens if the Pact is ever broken?"

Ianto sighed, looking incredibly tired. "Destruction on a massive scale. Perhaps even global, to match the near-destruction from the glaciers. An eye for an eye, Jack. Break the Pact, and the world pays. And it was humanity itself that made this deal. There's literally no way to fight it."

Jack couldn't accept that. He wanted to save the current Chosen One, like he wasn't able to save the children he himself had once sacrificed. "There has to be a way."

"I'm sorry Jack, but your own race made this Pact, and the Fae made certain they couldn't renege without catastrophic repercussions."

"You said the dragons pointed those primitive humans to the fairies," Jack said, almost accusingly.

"Yes, we did."

"So…what was in it for them? Why did they even suggest such a thing?" Jack needed to understand. If he admitted to himself, it was that he needed someone to blame for this mess, and a rather large part of him didn't want to even consider that humanity had had any clue as to what they were doing.

Ianto must have realized that, because he turned away, slumping down into the driver's seat, not looking at Jack any longer. "My people wanted to save their friends. Nothing more."

"That was it?" Jack asked disbelievingly.

The dragon turned back, his eyes so horribly ancient. Jack wondered vaguely if his own eyes would look like that some day. "They were dragon-friends. By our own Pact with them, it was our duty to do whatever we could to save them."

"Wait." Jack shook his head, not quite understanding that. "You say the dragons wanted to save these so-called dragon-friends, and yet they were human…so why not save these Chosen Ones?"

"One can only become a dragon-friend by Naming them in front of a gathering of dragons. If that isn't possible, then Naming them to the race with whom the Pact is made is the next best thing."

"And these children weren't Named."

"No. They would have been unNamed. And before you ask…no, they cannot be Named after being Chosen. "

It boggled Jack's mind, what Ianto was telling him. He really wanted to doubt the truth of it all, but he knew he couldn't. Although he sometimes didn't seem like it, he really did trust the dragon. Here, he'd thought Ianto had just been naïve about the fairies, but it seemed to be the opposite. "But…what if someone who made this so-called Pact with the fairies decided to stop a Chosen One from going to them?"

Ianto shook his head. "The Pact was made on behalf of all humanity. I know it sounds high-handed, but it was to save your species. Do you have any idea how lucky this world was when the Fae decided only to take out their revenge on your men, for the death of that child in 1909? They could easily have spread destruction across the entire planet. I'm not making light of your loss, Jack," he rushed to reply as Jack opened his mouth to speak. "Far from it, I swear. But you must see now that stopping the Fae is something we cannot do. To even try would break the Pact…could cause all human-kind to be wiped out."

So…it was a choice between a child and the entire planet. Jack hated to be put back into this situation all over again. It had been bad enough back in 1965…but to be forced to do it again, it made him feel like a monster.

"Jack, please," Ianto pleaded. The captain had never quite heard that tone from the dragon before. "Please say we'll let this lie. Is it really worth it if it causes the end of your humans?"

Jack sat back, thinking. Ianto was right, if that would indeed happen if they stopped the fairies from getting their Chosen One. It was just a surprise hearing it from the dragon; not long ago he'd been in a snit about all humans, and now he was practically begging Jack to save them. "This is a new tune for you. About humanity, that is."

Ianto smirked slightly. "I've had a month to be around ephemerals who weren't scheming, manipulative, uncaring arses. It's…given me a bit of perspective, I suppose. Besides, there are quite a few humans out there worth saving. I'd just…lost sight of that. All I could see was what a few had done to one of my kind, and I couldn't get past that."

Before he even knew what he was doing, Jack had reached over and taken Ianto's hand in his. "I really am sorry about Lisa," he murmured.

The dragon squeezed Jack's hand. "I know. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you about her before it was too late."

Jack shook his head. "No, I understand why you didn't." He smiled sadly. "I really want to make that up to you, but the first thing I do when you get back is argue with you."

That got him a chuckle. "Story of our time together, Jack. The disagreements seem to outweigh the agreements sometimes."

"Ianto, I'm also sorry for not listening to you. It's just…" Jack sighed. He was going to have to come clean about his unwillingness to sacrifice yet another child for the good of the planet. "Back in 1965, I was ordered to give twelve children to an alien race in order to prevent a particularly virulent strain of flu from wiping out a rather large segment of Earth's population."

Ianto looked shocked. "Who asked you? Torchwood?"

"And the British Government. I hated doing it, and it ate away at me for a long time. So, when the fairies started back up again…"

"I understand." Ianto squeezed his hand again. "Making sacrifices is always hard, especially when it's an innocent. But trust me when I say, that whoever the Fae have Chosen will want to go with them. It's not coercion, and in many ways they'll be going to a better place. I wouldn't lie to you about that, Jack."

Jack nodded. He was so very glad that Ianto was accepting of what he'd done; it made the knowledge of that time a little easier to bear. Still it was hard…

But no. He was the Captain. He had to make the tough decisions.

"Let's get back to the Hub," Jack said, giving Ianto's hand one final squeeze before releasing it, to let the dragon start the car up and pull it back into traffic.

Jack knew what he had to do.


	16. The Pact Chapter Five

The Pact - Chapter Five

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine, but I wish it was.

Author's note: Here's the next chapter. Once again, thanks to everyone reading and reviewing, you really make this all that much more fun. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

><p><em><strong>27 October 2007<strong>_

Ddraig Llyn might have been home, but when Ianto walked into the Hub with Jack, it was like he was rejoining his family.

He was barely past the cog door when he suddenly found himself with an armful of Toshiko Sato. Ianto couldn't help but grin as he hugged her back. They'd talked a couple of times during his leave, but seeing his friend again warmed Ianto's heart. He'd missed her, almost as much as he'd missed Jack.

Tosh pulled away slightly, just enough to look up at him. "You're never leaving again, got that?" she teased, her own grin a mirror of his.

"Yes, ma'am," he answered, his grin turning into a genuine smile.

"Looks like Mum and Dad are back together," Owen snarked, coming up from the autopsy bay to join them.

Ianto raised an eyebrow. "And just who are you calling Mum, Owen?"

The medic smirked. "Harkness, of course…the way he swans around the place…"

"Oi!" Jack exclaimed. "I do not 'swan' anywhere!"

"Well," the dragon said, completely deadpan, "you do, just a bit."

Jacks pout set them all to laughing.

"Meeting in the boardroom in five minutes," the captain said, moving past the group at the door and into the Hub proper. "Get the welcomes out of the way, people. We have work to do."

Ianto pulled out of Tosh's embrace. "I suppose you all would want coffee?"

Owen looked almost pitifully relieved. "Do you even have to ask, Dragon Boy?"

"Excuse me….Dragon Boy?" Ianto couldn't hide his astonishment. He was, of course, used to Owen calling him Tea Boy, but this was new.

"Well, you are!"

"You've been waiting a long time to call me that, haven't you?" This was the first time everyone in the Hub knew that Ianto wasn't human, so Owen couldn't have gotten away with it before.

Owen grinned. "You have no idea."

Ianto rolled his eyes. "And to think I wanted to come back to this madhouse."

"More mad you, then!"

The dragon chuckled. "You haven't broken the coffee machine while I was gone, have you?"

"No one's touched it," Toshiko said. "Well, Gwen tried until we told her you were the only one who could get that monster to work."

Speaking of Gwen…

His last teammate was hovering just on the periphery of their reunion, her eyes wary as she watched the three of them. Ianto stepped away from Toshiko and Owen, and up to the woman. "Gwen," he greeted her politely.

"Ianto," she said in return, looking slightly uncomfortable.

Jack had explained to him that Gwen had been the only one of the team to question why he was being allowed to come back, and why she'd told that PC that Ianto wasn't coming back. She'd honestly believed that he was gone at the time, despite Jack's assurances that Ianto would still be welcome. Ianto had a feeling it was going to be a battle to have the woman accept him.

All he could do was make the effort, although he still had issues with her being hired in the first place.

"I think you and I got off on the wrong foot," he said to her. "Let's just start over, shall we?" He offered her his hand.

Gwen looked from his face, to his hand, and then back, as if trying to judge his veracity. Finally, she nodded, accepting his hand and shaking it firmly. "Sounds like a good idea," she answered, although she didn't look very convinced.

"Coffee!" Owen urged. "If we're going into a meeting, we need the caffeine to keep awake!"

Ianto turned, spearing the medic with his gaze. "Your manners haven't improved with distance. It must be your mother's influence."

Toshiko choked on a giggle, and even Gwen grinned. Owen looked highly offended.

* * *

><p>"Okay, you lot," Jack said, entering the boardroom and taking his regular seat, interrupting Ianto as he was telling the others about his time at home. Jack instantly picked up the coffee mug that Ianto had sat down at his place, and the almost pornographic noises the captain made told the dragon that he hadn't lost his touch.<p>

"Jesus, Harkness," Owen snorted. "Do you have to make a drama about everything?"

"You can't tell me you weren't happy to get genuine Ianto coffee," Jack replied.

"Sure, but I didn't make a production out of it!"

Ianto sat there, basking in the give and take among his teammates. He'd truly missed them, even though it had crossed his mind while he'd been away not to come back. He couldn't understand now why he'd even considered it. He belonged here, even if his and Jack's relationship wasn't anywhere near fixed yet. These people were the closest to family he'd had in a long time.

"Let's get down to business," Jack said, setting his mug down. "Before I left, I was having you do some research for me into fairies. We're not going to need that anymore, the situation has resolved itself."

Ianto let out a breath that he hadn't been aware he'd been holding. Jack had assured him on the drive back that he'd shut down the investigation, but after the captain's own confession about the children back in 1965, he hadn't been certain Jack could have just let it lie.

The reactions of the team were all different. Owen simply shrugged, as if it didn't matter to him one way or the other. Toshiko nodded, accepting Jack's word, tapping commands into the laptop she'd brought with her.

Gwen though, she didn't look happy.

"I thought you said there was a child involved, Jack," she said.

"I did. But we don't have to worry anymore."

"How can you be so sure?"

Jack looked a bit put out by the questioning. "I just can. It's time to move on."

"You're going to have to give a better answer than that, Jack, especially with a child mixed up in this."

"No, I don't, Gwen. I'm in charge and what I say, goes." Jack's face had turned stony, and Ianto knew he had to step in or else there was going to be a major argument.

"Information has come to Jack's attention that makes it obvious that we're not needed on this case, Gwen," the dragon answered, keeping his voice pitched low, in an attempt to calm the raised emotions between them two. "As to what that information is, it's confidential and not Jack's place to say."

The captain looked at him gratefully, and Ianto returned the look with a nod. Gwen caught it, and frowned. "But you know what it is," she accused.

Ianto raised an eyebrow. "Of course I do," he answered. "I was there when Jack received the information." He wasn't about to tell her that he, himself, was the source of Jack's knowledge, because it was none of her business.

"As I said," Jack jumped back in, "the situation has resolved itself, and we're no longer needed. Now, I have something else I'd like us to look at; there have been a rash of missing persons out in the Brecon Beacons…"

* * *

><p><em><strong>28 October 2007<strong>_

"Good morning, Detective."

Kathy Swanson grinned. "Mr. Jones. Can I say I'm glad you're back?"

Ianto smiled. "It's good to be back. I take it you have something for us?"

The question wiped the smile from her face. "I thought I'd seen everything until now. The night custody sergeant had him locked up for the night, on his own. He says the prisoner kept shouting that something was after him."

She motioned Ianto, Jack and Gwen down the corridor toward the cells. He'd received the call almost the second he'd walked into the Hub that morning, and Jack had been quick to react, bustling them into the SUV and driving like a madman toward Cardiff CID.

"What kind of things?" Jack asked, sounding subdued for once.

"Shadows, according the sergeant," Swanson answered. "Said the prisoner also kept going on about being choked."

Toshiko chose that moment to join them. She had a scanner out, and was taking readings of the area as they approached the cell where the prisoner had been. "There were four other prisoners?" she asked Swanson.

The detective confirmed it. "I had them transferred."

"CCTV?" Jack inquired.

"I'm dealing with that," Tosh replied.

There was a rather burly young man standing at the cell door; he opened it, and Jack and Tosh entered. Ianto stayed outside, the better to speak to Detective Swanson. "Can we speak to the custody sergeant if needed?" he asked.

Swanson nodded. "I thought you might, so I asked him to hang around." She suddenly looked past Ianto, and the dragon turned.

Gwen was standing there, her arms crossed, looking slightly irritated. He simply quirked an eyebrow in her direction. "Is there a problem?" he asked calmly, although he suspected he knew what the issue was.

"I thought I was supposed to liaise with the police," she asked, not even trying to hide the belligerent tone in her voice.

He'd guessed right. "Detective Swanson and I are friends, Gwen," he explained.

"Yeah, Jones and me go back," Swanson added. "Even before I was a DI."

Gwen looked at the both of them. "Does that mean she knows - "

"Gwen," Ianto interrupted her, angrily. "Why don't you go and help Jack and Tosh?"

She looked a bit put out at being dismissed, but Ianto didn't care. He was nearly livid. How dare she? She had no right to even ask what she'd been about to ask. Besides, it wasn't her business who knew he was a dragon or not! Certainly she hadn't blurted anything out about Jack's immortality!

Gwen took the hint, and moved into the cell with Jack and Tosh, where they were examining the body. Ianto resisted the urge to rub his temples. "What can you tell me about the man?" he asked, turning his attention back to Swanson.

Swanson looked confused, but didn't let it get in her way. "Mark Goodson. Worked in town. Business consultant. Convicted pedophile."

That got Ianto's attention. He glanced back toward the cell, and saw Jack exit. He caught the immortal's eyes, and Jack nodded.

The Fae had done this.

"We'll take it from here, Detective," Ianto said.

"Kinda figured," she replied, smirking. "Man dies in a locked cell after yelling that things are after him? Sounds right up Torchwood's alley."

"Which is why you called us."

"Which is why I called you."

They shared a quick smile.

* * *

><p>"I thought you said everything was fine, Jack!"<p>

The accusation bounced around the inside of the SUV as they drove back to the Hub. Ianto rolled his eyes in response. The woman was like a dog with a bone, not willing to give up to anyone.

"It is, Gwen," Jack answered from the drivers' seat. Ianto caught his gaze in the rear view mirror, and the irritation was obvious.

"But that poor man was killed in the same way you said the fairies kill."

"That 'poor man', as you call him," Ianto said, "was a pedophile."

"So you're saying he didn't deserve to live?" she challenged.

"I'm saying," Ianto answered calmly, "that your sympathies are in the wrong place." He wasn't about to let her rile him up.

"Ianto's right," Tosh said, cutting Gwen off just as she was about to say something else. She shared a look with the dragon, who sat next to her in the back seat.

"If he was a pedophile, then he should have received a fair trial," Gwen went on. "Instead, he was murdered."

"I'm not sure the fairies see it as murder." It felt very strange to be calling the Fae that, but Ianto didn't want to telegraph that he knew more than they were telling her. "I think we can infer that Goodson did something to make them want to declare vengeance." There was only one thing that could do that, which meant they hadn't yet claimed their Chosen One as yet.

"Or else they decided to randomly kill an innocent man."

Ianto didn't want to argue with her. He _knew_ why the man had been killed, even if he hadn't seen the actual act. It was making him rethink a couple of things about the Pact between Fae and humans, in that whatever Goodson had done hadn't actually broken the Pact. While Ianto would be the first to admit that he didn't know the exact wording, he was now willing to bet that the Fae couldn't declare the Pact broken if it was done by accident. It would also explain why they hadn't done more than take revenge against Jack's men back in 1909. It must take an act of deliberation, in denying the Fae their Chosen One, that would serve to break it.

"Whatever the reason," Jack broke in, "it doesn't matter. This isn't our problem anymore."

Once more, Jack met Ianto's eyes in the rearview mirror. The captain looked tired, but fierce; he'd decided to accept Ianto's explanation of the Pact, and was standing by his original course of action.

They were going to drop it, and not interfere. Ianto was almost ashamedly relieved.

Because he didn't want to have to explain his own peoples' Pact with the Fae, and what it would mean to him personally if anyone of his Named dragon-friends willingly refused the Fae their Chosen.


	17. The Pact Chapter Six

The Pact - Chapter Six

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, it's not mine

Author's note: Here we go, the next part of The Pact. I'm so glad you all are enjoying my rewrite of "Small Worlds", it means a lot. Thanks to everyone, and I hope you continue to enjoy.

* * *

><p><em><strong>28 October 2007<strong>_

"Okay," Owen said, leaning against the doorjamb and giving Jack a frustrated glare, "just what burr's gotten up Cooper's arse?"

Jack glanced up from the requisition report that he'd been trying to concentrate on. "She won't accept that I closed the fairies case." She'd been quiet since they'd gotten back, concentrating on her terminal as if it was her new best friend.

The medic shook his head. "Wasn't her tenaciousness one of the reasons you hired her?"

It had been, and Jack didn't want to admit it, but Owen caught him out. "Yeah, I just didn't expect her to be aiming it in my direction."

"The temperature out in the main Hub has dropped drastically," Ianto commented, entering the office, bearing Jack's coffee mug. "Just from the cold shoulder Gwen is giving everyone."

Jack took the offered drink, letting his fingers brush against Ianto's. The dragon didn't flinch or pull away, which the captain took as a good sign. "You are my savior."

"What about mine?" Owen groused.

"It's sitting on your desk," Ianto answered.

"Did you have another reason for coming in here, besides wanting to know what's bothering Gwen?" Jack asked the medic.

"Oh yeah. Finished the autopsy on our lovely pedophile, and you were right…his throat and lungs were stuffed with rose petals."

Jack shivered. What a horrible way to die, even if the man may have deserved it. "Thanks. Book him a room into the Torchwood Hilton, would you?" The body wouldn't be going back to the police, not after a death like that. It would be going directly into the morgue.

"Already done. I'll have the report for you by the morning."

"Good job, Owen."

He shrugged. "Just doing my job. Now, I'm going to get my coffee, and hopefully if it stays quiet my boss will let us leave soon."

Jack smirked. "I'll think about it."

Owen left, and Ianto perched himself on the edge of Jack's desk. Blue eyes met blue, and Jack could read the gratitude in them. "Thank you," Ianto murmured.

Jack quirked an eyebrow up questioningly. "What for?"

"For not pursuing this. I know it was hard for you – "

"I won't lie, it was. But I also know that certain decisions have to be made, and I'm the one to make them. It's why they pay me the big money." It had been difficult to realize that they'd have to let the fairies take their Chosen One, however there'd been no real choice. Chances were, he'd have a few nightmares about it, but Ianto had assured him that whoever the child was, they'd be treated well.

Ianto snorted. "You forget, I know how much you get paid. And it really _is_ big money."

Jack smiled up at him. "Have I told you that I'm really glad you're back?"

"Not yet," Ianto replied, "but I'm glad I'm back too."

"Look, I meant what I said: we really need to talk. I was thinking – "

And Jack's phone rang.

He cursed. "Hold that thought," he said, reaching for his phone. "Harkness."

"_Jack?"_

The immortal sat up, instantly alert at the panicked sound in Estelle's voice. He put the phone on speaker, so Ianto could hear as well. "What's wrong?"

"_You were right…there are bad ones. They've come to me."_

Jack's heart stopped, then began to practically throb in his chest. He glanced up at Ianto; the dragon's blue eyes had changed into their normal aspect, pupils slanted like a cat's. "Estelle, we're on our way."

"Stay inside," Ianto commanded. "Don't go anywhere near them. Promise us, Estelle."

"_I promise. Please hurry."_

Jack hung up, jumping to his feet and rushing out of his office, Ianto on his heels. He couldn't understand why the fairies were going after Estelle, of all people; she'd never done them any harm, and in fact had steadfastly defended them to anyone. There would be no possible reason for them to do anything to her…

He was headed toward the car park when Ianto's voice calling his name stopped him in his tracks. The dragon was heading toward the cog door, Jack's greatcoat over his arm, their three teammates staring at him in surprise.

Jack knew immediately what the dragon intended.

"What's going on?" Gwen demanded, putting herself in Jack's way.

"If you don't step aside," Jack gritted, "I'll move you myself."

Gwen didn't argue. She let him pass.

The two were up on the Plass in no time, Ianto tossing Jack his coat even as the golden glow that heralded him changing into his true form settled around him. Absently Jack realized they'd have to Retcon the witnesses, but in that moment it just wasn't all that important.

Getting to Estelle was all that mattered.

The dragon crouched down, and Jack vaulted onto a muscled forearm, scrambling into place on the broad back, his knees tucked under unfurled wings. With a mighty heave, Ianto launched himself into the air, and the captain leaned forward and wrapped his arms around the dragon's neck, keeping himself low in order to create less drag.

The wind was cold, but it didn't bother Jack at all. The only thing he could think of was Estelle, and why the fairies would have attacked her. She hadn't done anything to warrant such an action. He really wanted to ask Ianto what would have caused them to do something like this, but there was no way he would have been heard over the rushing wind.

Jack lost track of time as they flew, his thoughts on the woman waiting for them to come to her rescue. Estelle had meant so much to him for so long, and even though he knew he'd lose her some day, he didn't want that to happen at the hands of a group of capricious fairies who didn't have any reason to do what they were doing. He thought of all the promises he'd broken when he'd left her, once again feeling as if his immortality was the worst curse imaginable. All he wanted to do was find the Doctor, and get it fixed so he could lead a normal life.

But his mind turned to the great creature he currently flew with, and how Ianto would also live a very long time. He could hear the unspoken accusation that night with Lisa, that they should be able to understand each other because of their long-livedness. It was true, but where for the dragon it was natural to be near-immortal, for Jack it was just plain wrong. He didn't want to go through life losing everyone he'd ever loved.

A flush of guilt went through him, as he considered that Ianto would have to suffer that fate once they were all gone and dead.

The dragon banked, and a frisson of fear slid down Jack's spine as he saw the lone storm cloud dumping its cargo of rain into Estelle's back garden. The dragon roared, the leather-like skin of his wings snapping as he braked, his large rear legs taking his weight as he came to a landing in the garden, his bulk crushing many of the plants in his wake.

Jack slid off as the rain pummeled his exposed skin; within seconds he was soaked even through his greatcoat. He could see them; the ugly green creatures were perched in the trees, and one large one hunched on the ground, snarling up at the dragon as Ianto did the same down at it.

"Go see to Estelle," the dragon growled. "I'll take care of these."

"_Go away, ancient one,"_ the fairy hissed as Jack headed toward the back door.

"You are attacking one of mine," the dragon snapped. "I protect my own."

The rest of the conversation was lost as Jack entered Estelle's home. He called out her name, and an answering call came from the lounge. Jack found her, curled up against the end of the sofa, Moses clutched in her arms, her eyes wide with fright.

He gathered her up in his arms, and she clutched back, unmindful of his wet clothes and the cat in her lap. "It's okay," he murmured, rocking her slightly.

Estelle was shaking. "You were right," she moaned. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you…"

He shushed her. "I think we were both wrong." He could tell that the rain outside had stopped, and he pulled away slightly, looking at her closely. "Are you hurt?" She didn't seem to be.

"No, just scared nearly to death!"

"Ianto's taking care of it now." He took Moses out of her grasp, setting the cat down, where he promptly darted under the closest table. Jack helped Estelle to her feet. "C'mon, let's see what's going on." He wasn't sure he trusted the fairies not to renew their attack once they caught sight of his former lover, but Jack wasn't about to leave her alone, and he almost desperately wanted to see if Ianto was all right.

" – Named her," the dragon was saying, as Jack and Estelle made their way to the open back door. "You cannot harm her."

"_Touched her we have not,"_ the fairy answered, _"Only have we frightened her."_

"But why?" Ianto demanded. "Estelle Cole has always been a friend to the Fae. She has done everything in her power to defend you, and yet you do this! Why?"

The fairy turned, spearing Jack with its dark eyes. _"To force the undying one to break the Pact."_

Jack shivered, realizing just what the creature was saying: they'd wanted to get him to break the Pact between human and fairy. But why would they want him to do that?

Ianto asked that same question.

The fairy smirked. _"Tired we are of only taking one at a time. We want to take what we want."_

Jack's eyes widened. "But if the Pact is broken," he said, "that would mean the end of the world. There wouldn't be any more Chosen Ones if there aren't any more humans."

"_We can get them from the past,"_ the fairy said contemptuously. _"Time stops us not."_

Estelle was shivering against him, and Jack tightened his arm around her. She had to have been confused, and he appreciated her waiting patiently for her explanations. "I won't do it," he snapped. "I won't condemn the entire planet like that!"

"_Not even for her?"_ The creature sounded distinctly put out.

"I wouldn't expect him to," Estelle said, her voice strong despite her shaking. "The entire world is more important than me."

The fairy hissed its displeasure.

"You're not welcome here," the dragon said angrily. "I have Named both Estelle Cole and Jack Harkness as dragon-friends, and you cannot hurt them. That would be breaking your Pact with _me_, and I know you do not want to do that."

"_You are the last,"_ the fairy bared its teeth. _"You do not matter to us."_

The dragon's head went up, and he glared down at the creature before him. He spoke again, but this time it was in a language that Jack didn't understand. A scent not unlike ozone filled the air, and the small hairs at the back of Jack's neck stood on end.

An invisible power seemed to permeate the garden, and the fairy flinched back, hissing once again as whatever the dragon was doing affected it. Everything went still; even the wind that had been rustling the trees, and a fog seemed to settle over everything.

In that fog, Jack saw…Time.

He saw the great ages of the world. From great volcanoes to massive ice sheets, to endless deserts and stormy seas, Jack found himself watching with awe as the progression of time flowed through the small garden. The flashes of the eons didn't last long, but they left no doubt in Jack's mind that somehow Ianto was causing this, that his words had summoned Time to that place, and was using it to face down a fairy who wanted nothing more than to break a Pact that had been in existence for tens of thousands of years.

It occurred to him that this was the magic that Ianto kept on about. That this power was of the earth, ancient and immutable, and somehow Ianto was calling it to his aid.

Just as quickly, things returned to normal. "You do not want me as an enemy," the dragon snarled. "Leave my dragon-friends alone."

"_They can still betray you, ancient one,"_ the fairy replied, its eyes narrowed. _"Your power will not avail you then."_

"You overestimate yourself. My friends are true, and will not break the Pact."

The fairy laughed; it was a horrible sound, like fingernails scraping down a chalkboard. _"You are too sure of yourself."_

"I have faith in them."

The creature laughed once more, and in the blink of an eye they were gone. Only the rain-saturated ground gave testament of their presence.


	18. The Pact Chapter Seven

The Pact - Chapter Seven

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Don't own it, but then I would have treated it with respect.

Author's note: Welcome to the next chapter of Dragon-verse Series One: The Pact. Thanks to everyone for keeping with this, you're all fantastic. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

><p><em><strong>28 October 2007<strong>_

They didn't have any trouble convincing Estelle to stay at Ianto's for the time being.

The dragon kept watch as his friend and Jack gathered things together for herself and Moses. He was certain that the Fae wouldn't return, but he was still cautious enough to leave at least one eye open to any possible danger.

Once Estelle had enough to get by for a couple of days, Jack called a cab and the three of them left, Ianto giving the driver his address. He was quiet, thinking over everything he'd found from out from questioning the Fae.

He couldn't believe they were looking to break the long-standing Pact between them and human-kind, let alone that they were hoping to use one of his Named dragon-friends to do it. A shiver went down his spine at the thought; he knew what was at stake if it happened, and while he was worried about what might happen to him, he was more concerned with the world at large. It was ironic that, just about a month ago, Ianto had been angry at the human race; now, he wanted to save it.

The trip was quiet, and it allowed Ianto to examine everything he knew about the various Pacts involved; which, to be honest, wasn't all that much. He found himself missing his father's calm advice, knowing that he was stepping through this situation nearly blind. Of course, he knew the histories, but the actual wordings Ianto was unfamiliar with. The easiest thing to do would be to keep everything on the right side of any and all agreements, until the Fae got tired and retrieved their Chosen One.

The dragon only hoped it would be that simple.

Once they arrived at Ianto's home, the dragon went to get Estelle situated in his guest room, and Moses into the back garden. He also managed to find Jack some dry clothes, hanging the soaked greatcoat in the bathroom to dry. After changing, Jack excused himself for a moment, saying he needed to make a phone call. Ianto figured he'd be checking in on the team, after their rather precipitous exit from the Hub.

After getting Estelle settled, the dragon went to find Jack. The immortal was in the garden, watching Moses as he stalked about his new surroundings as if he'd always been there. Jack was still on the phone; Ianto caught him saying, "- was just checking on you…I know it's late, but…fine, but take care of yourselves, okay?...yeah, see ya." He practically slammed the clamshell of his mobile shut, looking frustrated.

"Everything okay?' Ianto announced his presence.

Jack spun, the guilt that shone in his eyes suddenly hidden behind a smile that didn't quite fit. "Yeah," he said. "I had Owen send everyone home."

"Good." Ianto moved to stand next to him. "Are you all right?"

"You bet," Jack answered. "But I think there's something you haven't told me about all this dragon-friend stuff."

Ianto sighed. Trust Jack to notice his conversation with the Fae. "It's…complicated."

"I'm sure it is," Jack said dryly.

"It's just….I'm not even sure about it all. My…father explained it to me, and I've lived among dragon-friends for as long as I can remember. But, this is actually the first time I've ever claimed any humans that way."

"Who else did you claim, besides Estelle and me?"

"The team, and Kathy Swanson."

That earned him a quirked eyebrow. "I didn't know you and the detective inspector were so close."

"I consider her a friend. I'd even tell her about myself, but I don't want to force her to hide anything from her superiors."

"But you trust her."

"Yes, I do."

Jack snorted. "Well, that certainly makes her attitude a little easier to understand."

"We respect each other."

Jack looked Ianto in the eye. "And here I was afraid that you'd completely turned your back on humanity."

Ianto smiled slightly. "No…just a large percentage of it. And even that's changed."

"I…have a confession to make."

"Only one?" the dragon chuckled lightly.

"Well, one for now. I had another reason for hiring Gwen: and that was to show you that humans aren't your enemy, and to remind you that you're fighting for something more than me."

Ianto turned away. He really couldn't decide how he felt about that, but there was anger mixed in with it. "Jack, while I appreciate your effort, Gwen Cooper isn't the ideal example to show me. It was her sort of idealistic crusader that was mostly responsible for the destruction of my kind. I doubt I'll ever truly be friends with her."

Jack was silent for a moment, and then a hand rested itself on his shoulder. Ianto sighed, leaning slightly into the touch, wishing this meant more to the immortal than it did. "That…honestly didn't occur to me. I'm sorry, Ianto."

"It's all right. You meant well."

"I did, but that doesn't excuse how thoughtless I was about it." The hand gently prodded him to turn, and once he was face-to-face with Jack, the captain grasped both shoulders to hold him in place. His eyes were serious. "You and I really need to talk, Ianto. I know I'm a big part of what's wrong between us, and I really want to fix things."

A swell of happiness burst in Ianto's chest, and he realized they might actually succeed in saving something of their friendship. Yes, the dragon wished it was more than that, but he'd accept whatever Jack could give him. "I really would like to try," he answered, smiling.

Jack returned the smile, and it lit up his entire face. "Thanks for giving me a chance. How about, after this is all over, we – "

Jack's mobile rang.

The immortal cursed, pulling the offending device from his pocket. He glanced at the caller ID, and cursed again. Flipping the phone open, he snapped, "Yes?"

Ianto took a step back, to give Jack some privacy, feeling hopeful that things might yet work out between them. He knew they had a long ways to go, but if Jack wanted to try…

"We need to go," Jack's sharp words punctured Ianto's little happy bubble. "The fairies have trashed Gwen's flat."

* * *

><p>They stood in the middle of Gwen's flat, staring at the mess that the Fae had made.<p>

It had obviously been them, just from the rose petals that lay scattered everywhere. The furniture had been tipped over, and there was a pile of stones in the center of the room.

Ianto was livid. How dare they, after his confrontation at Estelle's? But then, they were watching him, he knew that, and had to have seen that his relationship with Gwen wasn't exactly close. In fact, they would have had to have known her feelings on the subject of the child they'd Chosen.

She would have been the perfect choice, if they wanted one of his friends to break the Pact.

Gwen was furious. "In the whole of my working life," she ranted, "I have never had to bring the bad times home with me. I have never had to feel threatened in my own home. Thank God Rhys was out with friends tonight! What would have happened if he'd been home when this happened? I thought you said this was taken care of, Jack!"

Ianto's heart went cold as he realized he hadn't Named Rhys Williams in his list of dragon-friends. Having never met the man, he simply didn't think of him that night in Roundstone Wood. How many other friends and relatives had he forgotten in his Naming? How many might be used against him by the Fae?

"There's been…a complication," Jack started.

Gwen interrupted him. "A complication? Jack, that complication wrecked my flat! These creatures can invade my home whenever they feel like it, and I'm scared! What chance do any of us have?"

Jack looked at Ianto, almost pleadingly. Ianto nodded, knowing that he was going to have to explain everything to Gwen, in order for her to understand what was going on.

And so, he told her of the early humans, and the coming of the ice, and of the Pact that was made with the Fae. He watched as her face went white, then red, and then angry, as he explained what those humans had done in order to save what was left of their race. And, how the Fae now were hoping to break that Pact, so they could take children indiscriminately.

When he was done, Gwen turned on Jack once more. "You believe this bollocks, Jack?" she demanded hotly.

Ianto felt like he'd been slapped in the face. Yes, he and Gwen didn't get along, but he hardly expected to be called a liar.

Jack looked thunderous. "Yes, Gwen, I do."

"But you're agreeing with…with Ianto, in letting these fairies actually take a child?" she asked incredulously.

Ianto noticed that little stutter as well, and wondered just what she'd been about to call him.

"If it means saving the world…then yes, it needs to happen."

She shook her head. "No, I don't believe this. I can't believe this!"

"Believe it, Gwen," Jack said inexorably. "The fairies are very capable of destroying life on this planet if they don't get what they want."

"And they want a child? You can't let them get away with this! We have to stop them!"

"How?' Ianto challenged, tired of her bluster. "Give us one way to stop the Fae, that won't cause the end of the world, and you can bet we'll take it!"

Gwen tried to stare him down, but after a full minute of silence Jack jumped in. "See why we need to drop this, Gwen? There literally is no way to stop this. What the fairies did to your flat was meant to get you do break the Pact. If you had motivation to stop them – "

"We can't just let this happen!' she exclaimed.

"We have to," the captain answered. "There are some things we can't help, Gwen. This is one of them."

"I can't believe that. "

"Believe it," Ianto said sharply. "It's one life for billions."

"This shouldn't even be a choice."

"Arguing about it isn't going to change anything, Gwen," Jack snapped. "This case is over. We're not pursuing it, even if it means they come after each of us. They've already put someone I care about in danger, and I had to make this same decision."

She stared at him, wide-eyed. "You'd let these fairies put someone you care about in danger?"

"It's already happened. Why do you think Ianto and I left the Hub so quickly earlier?"

"Jack chose the Earth over his own needs," Ianto said. "Why can't you do the same?"

"But this child!" Gwen replied. "Whoever it is can't make an informed decision!"

"Children are remarkably intelligent," the dragon said. "Adults just don't give them enough credit. Whoever this Chosen One is, they'll want to go with the Fae."

"Then we have to find them, and convince them to stay!"

"Haven't you been listening?" Jack nearly shouted. "We cannot stop this. To do it will cause death and destruction."

"And the Fae wouldn't let you die, once you think you've thwarted them," Ianto added. "They'd keep you alive, to watch what your decision has caused. They'd torture you with the knowledge that you broke the Pact and destroyed the entire planet, just because you thought you were right."

"They want this to happen, Gwen," Jack said. "They want the Pact broken so they can take what they want and wipe out humans in the process. Do you want this on your conscience?"

Gwen was shaking her head, but Ianto couldn't tell if it was because of what Jack had said, or if she still wasn't agreeing with them. Why was she fighting about this? Jack was in charge; what he said, should be followed. Gwen seemed determined to fight him every step of the way, even though there was no way out of the situation.

Ianto wanted to shake some sense into her, but knew that wouldn't do any good. "Gwen, you have to let this go," he told her, lowering his tone and hoping its seriousness would penetrate the self-created righteous indignation she'd fallen into.

"Ianto is right," Jack backed him up. "If you don't you're a danger to the team…and to the world, and I'll Retcon you so fast you won't even see it coming. Is that understood?"

Gwen reared back in shock. "You can't mean that!"

"I do, Gwen. I'm perfectly serious."

Once again, Ianto felt that warmth in his chest, warmer than his flame. Jack was backing him over Gwen, the woman he'd started out choosing over Ianto. He hadn't thought it would ever happen, and if the situation wasn't so grave then he'd revel in the knowledge that Jack trusted him.

"But you need me! You said so!"

"The world is more important than you, Gwen," Jack answered. "It's our job to save this planet, not to put our own morals and needs first. If what you think is right overrides the safety of the Earth, then you will always be wrong. If you can't accept that, then you don't have a place in Torchwood."

Gwen stared at him, her mouth open in shock. Then it snapped shut, and she nodded once.

Ianto let out a breath he didn't know he was even holding. He'd arrange to have a company come in and clean this mess up in the morning. Also, he'd speak to Tosh and Owen in the morning, and let them know what he'd told Gwen, so that they'd understand as well. He knew there wouldn't be any problem with his other teammates.

They just had to wait the Fae out. They'd soon take their Chosen One, and go back to the Lost Lands until the next time.


	19. The Pact Chapter Eight

The Pact - Chapter Eight

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine, but I wish it was.

Author's note: Sorry about the delay! Real life has been a bit nuts, and other things...I kinda forgot to post this. I do apologize! I hope you like this, and I'll try to get the next chapter up tomorrow...

* * *

><p><em><strong>29 October 2007<strong>_

"Jack? Can I talk to you for a minute?"

He glanced up from the newest round of paperwork Ianto had given him that morning, frowning at Gwen as she stood in his doorway, looking almost penitent. "Come on in," he said, motioning her to the chair opposite his desk. "Don't take too long, I'd like to get this all done today."

Gwen took the offered seat. "I just wanted to speak to you alone, to try and convince you to change your mind about the fairies."

Jack frowned even deeper. "I'm not going to change my mind, Gwen. I don't understand why you think I would."

"Because we're talking about an innocent child," she answered. "You can't bargain a child away like that!"

"Apparently our ancestors thought they could."

"And you actually believe that?"

"Of course I do. Sounds to me like something humanity would do to save itself." He wasn't going to go into the fact that he'd seen them do that very thing, and not all that long ago, either.

Gwen looked at him in shock. "You can't honestly be that cynical!"

"And you can't honestly be that innocent." He leaned his elbows onto the files he'd been perusing, steepling his fingers. "You really need to learn there are things you have to accept, even though they go against your nature. It's not a good feeling, but you have to or else this job will drive you nuts." He'd learned that all too well, in the more than century he'd lived.

"I don't ever want to get to the point where sacrificing a child is acceptable!"

"Then you don't belong here." He would never tell her about 1965; not that he'd planned to. As much as Jack hadn't wanted to give those children to the aliens, it would have meant an epidemic of global proportions if he hadn't.

Jack really didn't want to Retcon her; he still thought she could add something to the team. But if she was going to be stubborn about this…

"But this is why you need me: to show you when you're not being human! You can't afford to let me go."

"No one is above the team, Gwen," Jack said. "We can't afford to have a destabilizing presence in the Hub, not when it could mean the difference between saving the world and condemning it."

"You really believe that the fairies would have destroyed the world if they hadn't gotten their Chosen One?" she asked disdainfully.

"Gwen, there are a lot of things out there that you have no idea about," Jack snapped, getting angry at her pushing the subject. "Not all of it fits into your definition of morality. I thought we had this conversation last night."

She flushed slightly. "I wanted to convince you that there has to be another way to go about this, without giving a child to the fairies."

"There isn't. In fact, you're too late…they already have her. So your arguments are wasted." He and Ianto had managed to track down the Chosen One that morning; a girl named Jasmine Pierce had been the one, and they'd witnessed her leaving with the fairies, although her step-father had been a victim of the creatures' fury. The two of them had gotten the girl into the woods, where she'd gone happily into the Lost Lands.

Jack had hated it, but he wasn't about to admit that to Gwen. He was beginning to learn that, if you show the slightest weakness around her, she would try to exploit it. Not in an evil way; but she'd certainly try to convince you to come round to her way of thinking if she could. He could tell the whole thing unsettled Ianto as well, and Jack wasn't convinced that the dragon still hadn't told him everything about the consequences of someone breaking the Pact between the dragon and the fairies.

Gwen's face twisted angrily. "You mean you really just let a young child go with those…those monsters?"

"I do recall saying there wasn't a choice," Jack reminded her.

"How can you be so callous? What about her family?" She was working herself up into a frenzy.

Jack wasn't about to get into this with her. "That is none of your business," he growled. He hadn't really wanted to Retcon Mrs. Pierce, but after everything that had happened he'd had to. "Now, this subject is closed. If you bring it up again, I _will_ Retcon you. Is that clear?"

He could tell that she really wanted to say more, but with an audible click Gwen snapped her mouth closed. She rose from the chair stiffly, then practically stomped toward the door, and Jack was forcibly reminded of a child in a strop.

He called her back as she reached the door; Gwen stopped, but didn't turn.

"I also wanted to let you know that Ianto and I have talked, and we've decided that we're going back to the tried-and-true method of training for you; he and I will share the load, evaluating your performance along the way."

She did turn then, glaring at Jack. If he could actually die for real, the immortal felt like he'd have gone up in flames at her expression. "I'd rather train with you," she ground out.

"Too bad," Jack countered, getting an almost perverse joy out of saying that. "Ianto and I both handled Tosh and Owen's training, and we're going to do the same thing with you. It will be up to the two of us whether you're promoted to full field agent."

Gwen nodded once, although she didn't look at all happy about it. She left the office and headed out into the Hub proper, and Jack sighed. He was beginning to realize that it was never going to be easy dealing with Gwen Cooper.

* * *

><p>"I have all the information you wanted."<p>

This time, when Jack looked up from his paperwork, he was actually glad to see the person who'd interrupted him. "Have you come to save me from the invasion of the evil files?"

Ianto rolled his eyes. "Only to give you more," the dragon answered, coming into the office proper. He was indeed holding another file, this one fairly thick.

Jack pouted. "And you were supposed to be my hero."

"I'll leave the hero act to you, Jack," he said. "You have the coat for it, after all."

The captain grinned. He'd missed this teasing between them, and it was yet another sign that he and Ianto would be able to get past everything that had happened. "I do look good in that coat," he leered.

The dragon smirked. "Far be it for me to pander to your ego." He indicated the file he was holding. "This is everything we have on those disappearances in the Brecon Beacons. It makes for disturbing reading."

"I can imagine," Jack said, dropping back into work mode. "Can you give me the highlights?"

Ianto nodded. "Seventeen disappearances over the last five months, all within a 20-mile radius. No bodies were ever found, and there's nothing to link any of the victims."

"Not good at all." Jack reached for the file, which Ianto gladly gave him. "Do you think if we got out that far, if you'd be able to sense if the Rift had grown?" He respected his Second's ability to feel the Rift energies, even if he didn't understand it. Jack had a certain sense of Time himself, being a time traveler, but he only could sense the Rift when it was overly active. Ianto was aware of it constantly. It was better than having that predictor program Tosh had been working on.

"Should do," was the reply.

"Then we'll head out first thing in the morning. I want the whole team on this, since we don't know what we're dealing with. It'll be your opportunity to watch Gwen and make some recommendations on her training."

Ianto nodded. "Shall I make the arrangements?"

Jack grinned. "Do we have camping gear?"

The dragon cocked his head to the side, considering. "Yes, we do. Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"

"I should think so." This was going to be fun.

"Shall I then pack the earplugs? Owen's going to do nothing but bitch about it." Despite the dragon's usual deadpan delivery, his blue eyes were actually sparkling with mischief.

Jack laughed. "That might not be a bad idea." Then he sobered, looking up at his Second from where the dragon was leaning against the desk. "Do you mind Estelle staying at your place until we can get her window replaced?"

"Not at all. I have the work arranged for Tuesday. Oh, and the cleaners will be at Gwen's flat tomorrow, and since she'll be going with us you might want her to warn Rhys."

Jack inwardly cringed. After their talk earlier, he'd hoped to get away with not interacting with Gwen any more for the day. He hated feeling that way, but he was beginning to see things in her that could possibly hurt the team dynamic. He only hoped the more proper training would smooth out any rough spots.

Something must have shown in his face, because Ianto frowned. "What has she done now?"

"Oh, she was just back in here a while ago, trying once again to convince me to go up against the fairies for that little girl."

The dragon looked pissed. "Does that woman never learn? What doesn't she understand about leaving the situation be? Does she want to be the reason the world ends?"

"She doesn't believe it would."

"She'd certainly believe it when the Earth is covered with fire and ice and all living things are dead and dust!"

Suddenly it came to Jack. "Do you think you could show her?"

Ianto looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"What you did at Estelle's…I could actually see Time, when you confronted that fairy. Couldn't you do something like that, to show her what would happen?" He recalled it so vividly, seeing every epoch of time flickering through Estelle's garden

Ianto actually blushed. "Well, that was actually a bit of a parlor trick, to be honest. There are certain Words of Power, and they have effects on reality…I was just blustering, really. Besides, I can't do that unless there's an active power source nearby, like Roundstone Wood or Estelle's house, which sits on a ley line – "

"Or a Rift in Time and Space?"

That earned Jack a contemplative look. "I've never actually tried anything like that in the Hub. The Rift might even make the seeing stronger." His eyes met Jack's. "If you think it would work, I could try. I mean, can she be freaked out any more by me? Wait, don't answer that."

"It might gain you a bit of respect."

"Or it might make her more afraid of me."

"True." Jack sighed. There had to be a way to get through to her…

"Or," Ianto said, "we can let her speak to Jasmine."

The captain frowned. "But she went with the fairies."

"I can call the Fae, but we have to be in Roundstone Wood to do it. Perhaps if she heard it from Jasmine's own lips, that she wanted to go…" the dragon shrugged.

"They won't be able to do anything, would they?" Jack was suddenly afraid, he didn't want anything to happen to anyone on his team.

"No. I've Named you all. They cannot harm you."

"If you think it would work…" He couldn't help it; he'd lived in fear of the fairies for so long, the very idea of speaking to them – even though he'd done it at Estelle's – was making his skin crawl.

A warm hand touched his. He looked up into ancient blue eyes, eyes that were smiling at him even though Ianto's face was serious. "It's all right to be frightened, Jack. We're dealing with something beyond human experience. If you weren't, I'd be very worried."

Jack took a deep breath. "All right. I trust you."

The smile that got him was breathtaking.


	20. The Pact Chapter Nine

The Pact - Chapter Nine

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, but I wish I did.

Author's note: As promised, the next chapter. I'll try not to get so behind next time! Thanks to everyone who have been reading and alerting and favorite'ing, I appreciate you guys a lot!

* * *

><p><em><strong>29 October 2007<strong>_

It was dark before they arrived at Roundstone Wood, and that suited Ianto just fine.

They'd had to take two vehicles; when Estelle had heard where they were going, she'd insisted on coming along, the outrage at what the Fae had done to her evident in her eyes. Jack had tried to get her to stay at Ianto's, but the older woman was almost as stubborn as Gwen, and she had an emotional bond with Jack that had made it hard to say no to her. Ianto had been all for her accompanying them; she'd earned the right, after what had happened.

Toshiko and Owen had also come, but for a different reason: Ianto knew that, some time in the future, the Fae would try again to break the Pact, and he wanted witnesses that could attest to what would take place tonight, and would make sure everything was reported for generations down the road. Yes, while he could see himself and Jack staying with Torchwood indefinitely, having two independent witnesses would mean that whoever was on the team then wouldn't have to take just his and Jack's words for it. Certainly he hoped that that long far off team would believe them, but they could very much get someone like Gwen Cooper, who would doubt them and want to try to fix things.

To be honest, Ianto was beginning to doubt his reasoning in taking anyone into Roundstone Wood. When he'd suggested it, the dragon had thought that showing Gwen that Jasmine Pierce was happy, and that the Fae weren't going to harm her, would be a way to make her understand that not everything matched up to her ideal. That she couldn't hope to impose her own beliefs onto others. But now, as they trudged through the trees toward the stone circle, Ianto was wondering if he wasn't opening himself up to trouble.

It occurred to him that things could still go horribly wrong.

At least he knew he had three of the five of his companions firmly on his side. He and Jack had explained things to Owen and Tosh, and their teammates had seemed to understand why what was done, had to have been done. Estelle, though, was a wild-card; she was angry that the Fae had tried to frighten her, had tried to use her to get Jack to break the Pact, that there was no telling what she might do. As for Gwen…well, Ianto knew she'd try to get Jasmine to come with them when they left, but there was no danger that the child would. But, if Gwen said the wrong thing…

There was a gentle touch to his hand; Ianto looked over and saw Jack, the immortal's teeth gleaming in the torchlight as he smiled encouragingly. Before they'd left the Hub, Jack had promised that they'd talk after their little outing, and Ianto didn't know whether he was looking forward to it or not. It had been obvious that he'd been trying to say something for a couple of days now, and while Ianto appreciated Jack's sudden need to be honest, the dragon wasn't at all sure he wanted to hear any of it.

He mentally shook himself. These were part of the answers he'd wanted from Jack for so long. If he didn't like what Jack was going to tell him, it was his own choice.

He'd deal with that when needed.

Now, he was walking willfully into the lair of the Fae, and he was taking five ephemerals – well, four ephemerals and an immortal – with him.

The dragon could feel the power rising around him, just as it had on his previous visit to the wood. He paused, turning back to his companions. "We're getting closer," he murmured. "I'm not sure what you're going to see, since you don't have the senses that I do. Roundstone Wood is old, but the place where it grows is even older, and there are memories in the very trees and earth around us. I'm asking that you all show respect to this place, all right?"

He looked at each one of them. Jack nodded somberly; Estelle looked as if she was on some sort of adventure as she hooked her arm around the immortal's. Toshiko had that expression on her face that meant Ianto was in for a thorough questioning later, even as she used the one scanner the dragon had told her she could bring to take readings of the surrounding energy patterns. Owen mimicked Jack's nod, although he seemed more bored than impressed; Ianto was familiar with the medic enough to know it was just an act and that he was just as interested as Tosh was. Then he glanced at Gwen.

Ianto had noticed almost the first time he'd met her that Gwen Cooper carried her heart on her sleeve, and her face was more expressive than any of the others. And yet, she could obviously lie with the best of them, hiding her emotions easily.

Looking at her now, the dragon couldn't tell what she was feeling.

It worried him.

A wind blew through the trees, and the dragon could swear he heard laughter.

"They're here," he murmured.

Three out of four reached for guns that weren't present. One of the first things Ianto had insisted on was that all weapons remain in the SUV. Jack's Webley itself was locked in Ianto's glove box.

He turned, walking further into the trees, his torch carefully picking out the game trail he'd taken toward the stone circle. As he moved on, he began to see the changes around him once more; of the turning of the eons, back into what scientists called Deep Time, back to the coming of the Spider to form the center of the Earth. Ianto managed to control a shiver at that thought; it had been a story his father had told him, and as a child it had frightened him that something was sleeping deep within the earth under his feet.

Judging from the gasp just behind him, at least one of his companions was getting some sort of idea of the power in the wood; from the obviously masculine sound of it, it had been Jack, which shouldn't have surprised Ianto in the least. He recalled Lisa's words, _"He stinks of Time'._ Also, Jack had seen the affects of the Word of Power he'd used at Estelle's, so it made sense that he would be the one.

He could see the stones ahead. Ianto kept walking; even though he couldn't see any of the Fae that he knew were present. They were attempting to unnerve him, and although it was working he wasn't about to say anything aloud. He almost laughed when he realized that showing weakness to the Fae was like doing the same to Gwen: they would try to exploit it.

That made him wonder vaguely if her family had any Fae blood. It could explain the darkness he sensed within her.

The power called to him, and he resisted, staying in his human form. Ianto wasn't about to give in to anything, wanting to remain strong in front of the Fae. "I know you're there," he called out, coming to a stop in front of the closest stone.

This time, the laughter was more noticeable. As Ianto stood waiting, the large Fae he'd spoken to before landed on the stone before him, dark eyes narrowed. _"What do you do here, ancient one?"_ it asked. _"And why bring these with you?"_

"We wished to see the girl, your Chosen One," he answered, keeping his voice level. He wanted to turn, to see how the others were reacting, but didn't dare.

The Fae looked at him knowingly. _"One of them could still break the Pact."_

"No. They are all true. They wouldn't break it." Ianto had to show certainty; he couldn't give them anything to use.

"_Do they understand ancient one? Do they understand the consequences of your bringing them here?"_

Ianto frowned. "There are no consequences. What do you mean?"

The Fae glanced behind the dragon, thin lips curved upward in a smile. _"All they have to do is betray you, and you would be ours."_

"What do you mean by that?" Jack demanded, stepping forward, Estelle still on his arm.

Ianto wanted to speak up, to deny what the Fae had said, but the creature was right. Fear crawled up into his chest, threatening his ability to breathe. Bringing them there was a mistake, and now he had the proof of that.

"_The Naming, undying one,"_ the Fae cackled. _"He has Named you all, and that means what you do against us reflects against him."_

"What?" Gwen spoke up. "I don't understand. What are you talking about?"

The Fae looked at her, and it licked its lips in anticipation. _"All you need do is betray him, child. Betray him, and you will not have to deal with him ever again."_

Jack cursed. "This is what the Naming is, isn't it?" he sounded almost accusing. "You've guaranteed our behavior."

"Bloody hell," Owen added. "You couldn't tell us this before?"

"It…it was one of the conditions of the Naming," Ianto answered slowly, his eyes not leaving the joyful creature in front of him.

"_Being dragon-friend is more curse than honor,"_ the Fae laughed.

"You're wrong," Jack asserted. "I'm honored to be called a dragon-friend. And I'll gladly uphold any sort of Pact that Ianto has." He placed his free hand on Ianto's shoulder, squeezing slightly.

"Jack's right," Toshiko stepped up. "Ianto is my friend. I'd never betray him."

"Yeah," Owen added. "Besides, who'd make my coffee in the morning if something happened to dragon-boy? I'd go nuts in a month."

"Ianto is a dear friend," Estelle said. "I'd never do anything intentional to hurt him."

The dragon felt his heart lighten at every declaration. They were truly dragon-friends, embodying everything that he'd learned from his father about Naming people to trust with his life. He snorted at Owen's comment, but he knew what he really meant by his words.

But, one more person hadn't answered as yet.

Ianto really didn't want to look at Gwen. She could be the deal-breaker; the one that would damage the Pact beyond all repair. He turned his eyes to her, hoping to get some idea of what she was thinking.

Her eyes were narrowed, staring at the Fae as if she wanted to read his mind. "I want to see her," she replied.

"Gwen?" Jack asked, uncertainty in his voice.

"I have to know, Jack," she said.

"_You cannot trust them, child,"_ the Fae said slyly.

"Oh, and I'm supposed to trust you, am I?" Gwen scoffed. "I'm not one of those early humans who were blinded into giving away their children. I want to see her…now."

The Fae didn't look happy, its wings whirring in agitation. _"The Chosen One does not wish to return to the world."_

"So, you're saying I can't trust the people I work with," Gwen mused, "but the one thing that can prove your case you won't bring out?"

"_The dragon and the undying one brought the Chosen to us,"_ the Fae answered. _"Does that say you can trust them?"_

The glare Gwen gave them was withering. She stood there belligerently, her arms crossed over her chest. "Is that true, Jack?"

"Yes, it is," the captain answered. "I chose to make sure that the Chosen One got to where she wanted to go, in exchange for the world not ending."

The woman looked even angrier. "How could you? I can understand Ianto doing it, because he's not even human! But you, Jack…how could you?"

"I've explained this to you, Gwen! Why aren't you getting that it was necessary? The girl wanted to go with them, anyway!"

"Gwen," Ianto said, "I'm not trying to trick you. I've explained to you what happened, those tens of thousands of years ago. It might not have been the right thing to do, but your entire race would have died out if that Pact had not been made. You…Owen…Tosh…even Jack; none of you would be here now if that Pact had not been made. Do you at least understand that?"

She looked at him, nodding. "I just can't believe it was that bad, that humanity can make a deal like that!"

"I wasn't there," the dragon admitted. "But my grandfather was, and he told my father…who told me. Humanity would never have had the chance it does now, without that sacrifice. You have to see that!" The entire world hung in the balance, and Ianto knew then what a mistake he'd made in bringing them all here…of bringing Gwen here. He should have let it lie, let her get over it in her own time, instead of dragging them all out to the middle of Roundstone Wood in a doomed attempt to make her see that Jasmine was where she wanted to be.

"_You fight for this world, ancient one," _the Fae hissed, _"and yet the humans are the ones who have left you so alone. Surely breaking the Pact would mean you would get your vengeance?"_

Ianto stood taller. "Revenge isn't the dragon way," he retorted. "Those humans are dead and dust. I have no issue with the ones now living." He didn't add that, that hadn't always been the case. If the Fae had moved only a month sooner, Ianto might have broken the Pact himself.

That thought chilled him. He'd never have thought that sort of action was within him.

His mother would have been bitterly disappointed in him.

Once more, he turned to Gwen. "This is your decision, Gwen. You seem unable to realize that what your ancestors did was to save your life…and the lives of billions and trillions, far into the future, as long as humanity shall exist. But, if you choose to break the Pact now, and to betray me and your friends and your family…then it's your choice. I won't stop you. I have Named you, Gwen Cooper…I know that means nothing to you, but it does to me. I shall never betray you, or yours, for as long as you and your descendants live. It's in your hands."

The silence that hung in the air was so heavy it dragged on Ianto's lungs. Jack's hand on the small of his back anchored him to the here and now, and he leaned back into the touch, seeking the comfort it brought.

Gwen didn't say anything. She simply stared at the Fae, and then back at Ianto. Time seemed to stop all around them as she looked back and forth between the two, and Ianto swore he'd never play poker with her.

Finally, Gwen turned, and began to walk out of the wood. "Are you lot coming?" she called out over her shoulder. "Rhys is expecting me home for dinner, and it's lasagna night."


	21. The Pact Chapter Ten

The Pact - Chapter Ten

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine, but I wish it was.

Author's note: Here we are, the last chapter of The Pact. I hope you've enjoyed it, and the next story is The Harvest, the Dragon-Verse's version of "Countrycide". Stay tuned!

Thanks to you all, for reviewing and alerting and everything. All of you reading are awesome.

* * *

><p><em><strong>29 October 2007<strong>_

Jack was incredibly relieved as the group trudged back to their cars, but he should have known it wouldn't last.

He walked with Estelle and Ianto, and it occurred to him that he was sandwiched between his two favorite people. Everything had turned out well – even though they hadn't gotten to see Jasmine – and now perhaps things could settle down for a bit.

He hadn't counted of Gwen rounding on Ianto once they'd gotten back to the parked vehicles, looking angrily at the dragon. "You think you've won," she spat. "You think I've chosen you over the fairies, and maybe I have. But it was the devil I know, against the devils I didn't, and that's why I walked away. I still don't trust you, and I'll be watching you. And I'm going to find a way to shove this so-called Pact down your fucking throat without destroying the world! Are we clear?"

"Now, just a damned minute – " Jack began, his anger overcoming any good feelings he had about the outcome of their trip.

He felt a hand on his arm. "It's fine, Jack," Ianto sighed. He turned to the enraged woman. "Good luck to you, Gwen. I do hope you find a way to break the Pact without the consequences."

She looked surprised at his capitulation, but didn't let that stop her from storming off toward the SUV and climbing into the passenger side, slamming the vehicle's door behind her.

"I don't think I'll ever understand that woman," Owen said, shaking his head. "All that passion…makes me wonder what she'd be like in the sack – "

"Owen!" Tosh exclaimed, slapping him on the arm.

"What?" he moaned, rubbing where Tosh had hit. "I'm just saying…"

"I do want to thank you both," Ianto said sincerely, "for backing me in there."

Toshiko enveloped him in a hug. "You're my friend, Ianto. There isn't a lot I wouldn't do for you."

Jack could see just how much her words affected Ianto, just by the slight smile on his features. "You're my friend too, Tosh," the dragon answered. "You are a true dragon-friend."

The woman pulled away, and she looked pleased and happy. "I'm glad I can be."

"Enough with the mush, okay?" Owen groaned. "It's so sweet I'm gonna spontaneously develop diabetes."

The group laughed at Owen's complaining. Jack basked in the closeness of his friends, and a part of him wondered if Gwen would ever fit in. As long as she held Ianto's dragoness against him, there really wasn't a chance of it. Maybe he could work on some team-bonding while they were out in the Beacons.

"You two take the SUV back to the Hub," Jack said. "If you get there before us, head on home. Be back around 6am; we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"You're really serious about the whole countryside thing, Jack?" Owen moaned. "I hate the bloody countryside."

"We go where the job takes us," Jack answered.

"Yeah, yeah. C'mon Tosh, let's get outta here." With a backward wave, both operatives headed toward the SUV, Owen getting into the drivers' seat and Toshiko into the back. With the roar of the powerful engine, they drove off, leaving the three of them standing next to Ianto's car.

Jack ushered Estelle into the back of the car, taking the passenger seat. Ianto climbed in behind the wheel, and pulled them away from the curb.

The captain was silent, processing what had happened in Roundstone Wood. It could have gone so badly, and he wished too late that he hadn't agreed with Ianto's idea to take Gwen to see Jasmine. He wanted to ask what would have happened if she'd broken the Pact. He suspected he really didn't want to know.

Then he silently cursed, realizing that the fairy had given away his secret by calling him 'undying one' in front of Estelle. He hoped she hadn't noticed…

"You okay?" he turned slightly in his seat to look at his former lover.

"I'm fine," she answered, smiling. "Although I'll never look at my little friends the same way again. I had no idea that was what they really looked like." She chuckled. "Almost like Gollum from the "Lord of the Rings' movies, only not nearly as tragic."

Ianto laughed, but Jack was puzzled. "They made movies from the books?"

"You've never seen the movies?" Ianto asked, astonished.

"Well, someone has to watch the Rift when everyone else has time off," Jack growled, feeling left out.

"We're going to have to change that," the dragon said. "First free weekend…movie marathon. You…me…and the extended editions. No one leaves until all three movies are finished."

Jack wanted to grin like mad. Things were looking up for him and Ianto, if the dragon was inviting him for a weekend at his home. He really didn't want to read too much into it, but it was like a sign that things were going to be all right.

But first, he had to get this talk out of the way.

Ianto deserved the truth. The dragon had named him a friend, or more importantly a _dragon-friend_, and Jack wanted to live up to that name.

He was quickly coming to the conclusion that Ianto was beginning to mean more to him than the Doctor, and the captain didn't know how to react to that.

A part of him wanted to push Ianto away once more, but the saner part reminded him that he'd done that once before, and it had led to this breaking of trust between them. Jack couldn't afford that again. He had to come clean, and tell Ianto the truth, and deal with the consequences of that.

Jack didn't doubt there would be consequences.

He glanced over at Ianto. His human profile was lit by passing streetlights, a small smile on his face at something Estelle was saying. The dragon caught his looking at him, turning to catch Jack's gaze. There was an unguarded happiness in his eyes, and Jack wanted nothing more than to keep that expression there. He didn't doubt he'd fail though, once he told Ianto everything.

It had to be done though. And it had to be done tonight, before Jack lost his nerve.

They dropped Estelle off at Ianto's, the dragon giving her run of the place while they were gone. He quickly packed a bag, then they drove back to the Hub in companionable silence. It was also in that same silence that they packed the SUV up for the trip to the Beacons tomorrow morning.

Afterward, they adjourned to Jack's office, where the immortal offered the dragon a glass of scotch. Ianto accepted, and they sat together, just enjoying the silence and the liquor.

They'd used to do this all the time, back before Canary Wharf. Jack had missed it without realizing it until that very moment, when he leaned back in his desk chair, watching Ianto sip from his glass. Every once in a while, the dragon would glance at Jack, and it should have been an opening to start telling him everything, but Jack didn't take any of them.

"I thought you wanted to talk," Ianto finally said.

"I do." Jack set his glass on the blotter. He smiled weakly. "Just a bit nervous, is all."

"You don't have to be around me, Jack. Whatever you have to say, I'm sure it will be all right."

_I wouldn't count on that_, Jack thought.

And so, he began.

He started with his family, telling Ianto about where – and when – he came from. Some of it he'd already shared, but not the details; Jack spilled it all, including the attack on his colony and the loss of his brother, Gray.

He continued on with joining the army, then the Time Agency; up through the loss of the two years of his life, and his going rogue and becoming a conman. Jack felt so ashamed of what he'd done, and he knew that communicated itself to the Ianto by the look of sadness in his old, blue eyes.

His time with the Doctor and Rose was next, and he felt happiness returning as he shared some of their adventures. He set Ianto to laughing when he told the story of being at the mercy of the two androids on the Game Station, but that soon turned to shock when Jack got to the worst part: the Daleks, and how he'd led the battle against the invasion.

"The same Daleks that were at Canary Wharf?" Ianto asked, frowning.

"Yep," Jack answered. "They were my first death."

He spoke of knowing he was going to die, and facing the trio of Daleks with his arms outspread, accepting his death. Then he spoke of waking up, surrounded by little mounds of dust, and the sounds of the TARDIS leaving echoing in his ears.

"He left you?" Ianto was outraged.

Jack shrugged. "I'm sure he thought I was dead."

"He could have at least gone back to check!"

Jack's chest warmed at Ianto's anger on his behalf. "Maybe he did, and caught me before I'd resurrected. But anyway, I was on that space station surrounded by dust and death, so I did the one thing I could: I left."

He explained his coming to Earth, knowing that the Doctor was often there, and wanting to catch up with him, but landing in the wrong time. He went on about his second death, and his dawning realization that nothing could kill him for long. That was when he'd come to Cardiff, hoping to meet up with the Time Lord, and discover what answers he could about his 'condition'.

"Have you been waiting here this long?" Ianto wanted to know.

Jack nodded. "I've been hoping to come across a regeneration that I could interact with." He explained about how Time Lords could regenerate. "But so far…nothing. If I'd known he'd be at Canary Wharf, I would have gone myself." Maybe if he had, everything with Lisa could have been avoided…

"So…you're still waiting." It wasn't a question.

"Yep. I need to know, Ianto. I need to know what happened to me, if I'm really immortal or if this is going to wear off at some point. You know that hand I keep?" At the dragon's nod, Jack said, "That's his hand. I've built a Doctor detector, and when the hand starts to react I'll know he's here." He swallowed. "I'll have to go with him when he returns."

Pain sparked across Ianto's eyes, quickly hidden behind his usual, bland mask. "I…understand, Jack. And this explains so much…" He bowed his head, refusing to meet Jack's gaze. "You can't afford to get close to anyone, if you're going to…leave…"

"Ianto," Jack pleaded, leaning forward to try to catch a glimpse of what the dragon was feeling. "I've been waiting nearly one hundred years to get my answers. I can't afford _not_ to go with him."

Misery radiated from the dragon almost like a heat haze. "That's fine, Jack," Ianto said, his voice toneless. "We'll miss you, of course…but you have to find out why you're the way you are. We'll cope, don't worry about us."

Jack couldn't handle it any longer. For so long, he'd been looking forward to meeting up with the Doctor, to traveling with him once more. That was, until he met Ianto Jones, and then he'd known just how dangerous the dragon was to his intentions. He'd done everything in his power to push Ianto away, to keep him at arms' length, and it had taken what happened with Lisa to make Jack realize that the dragon meant more to him than he'd ever suspected.

He remembered that Tarot reading, the one that had set him on his path to Ddraig Llyn, and the dragon who sat before him, refusing to even meet his eyes. She'd known. She had to have known what would happen, and the Lovers card had come up.

Suddenly, Ianto stood. "Well, I should get some rest for tomorrow. I'll just go down to my hoard room. Thank you for telling me. Goodnight, Jack."

He was halfway to the door before Jack broke through his surprise and pursued him. Grabbing Ianto's arm, he stopped the dragon just as he was stepping over the threshold. "Ianto, stop. Please."

"I really should go, before I say something we'll both regret." He tried to pull his arm out of Jack's grasp, but the immortal held on.

"I didn't want to hurt you - "

Blue eyes snapped up to meet his, and Jack was rocked by the anger that he saw there. "Hurt me?" he laughed harshly. "Of course you hurt me. You _used_ me! And what's worse is that I _knew _you would! Four times, she said. Four times you'd break my heart. I should have left then and there!"

Jack looked at the dragon in confusion. "She? Who told you…?" There was only one person Ianto could mean. "You spoke to the girl?"

"She approached me, and gave me a reading. I really thought I could break the curse…" Ianto took a deep breath, seemingly getting his emotions under control. "You should leave with him, Jack. When your Doctor comes, you should leave with him. I don't have any right to be angry, because you do need answers. And I really am glad that you told me, so we can be prepared when you do leave. Do you have any idea when that will be?"

Jack shook his head. "Only that it'll be sometime before the end of the decade."

"So it could be tomorrow…or three years from now. I'll need to prepare the proper protocols for the turning over of Torchwood to me – "

"Stop," Jack pleaded once more. He didn't want to hear this almost mechanical recitation of what would happen when the Jack left. He would have preferred the dragon still be angry with him, than this passive acceptance. "Yes, you're right…I'll need to go with him. But I swear to you, Ianto…I swear to you that I'll come back. I'll come back for you."

Jack knew in that moment that his time traveling with the Doctor was over. It had ended the moment he'd met a singing dragon on a mountain high over a peaceful valley, only he'd been too stubborn to accept it.

He would go for answers, but come back for Ianto Jones.


	22. The Harvest Chapter One

The Harvest - Chapter One

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, which is really sad.

Author's note: Here is the first chapter of The Harvest, which is my re-write of "Countrycide". Thanks to everyone again for supporting this story, whether by reading, reviewing, alerting or favorite'ing. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

><p><em><strong>30 October 2007<strong>_

Jack was getting a bit tired of Owen's bitching.

Maybe he should have listened to Ianto when the dragon had offered to pack the earplugs.

"I hate the countryside," the medic was currently whining, from where he was sandwiched between the ladies in the back seat. "It's dirty, it's unhygienic. And what is that smell?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw Ianto roll down his window just a little bit more. Obviously in an attempt to piss Owen off, and not for any air; although the dragon didn't mind the chill as much as the rest of the team did.

"That would be grass," Gwen answered, barely controlling her irritated sigh.

"It's disgusting!"

Jack wondered if this was what like parenthood was like; the only thing missing was someone asking if they were there yet. He gripped the wheel a little tighter, knowing this was going to be an even more interesting mission once Owen found out that there would be actual camping with tents involved.

He tried to tune the medic out as his thoughts turned to last night. He glanced at his Second surreptitiously, considering their conversation. The moment he'd told Ianto that he would come back to him after getting his answers, Jack knew that would be exactly what he'd do. That realization was followed quickly by the one that said that Ianto apparently didn't quite believe him. Well, could he blame the dragon for that? Jack had lost the trust that they'd shared by his own actions. How could Ianto actually believe him when he'd claimed to want to come back for him?

That just meant that Jack had to prove himself. He was surprised by the strength of his determination to do just that.

"I just realized," Tosh's voice cut through Owen's bitching and Jack's thoughts. "We're going to miss the anniversary."

"What anniversary?" Gwen asked confusedly.

"The anniversary of Jack and Ianto taking over Torchwood Three," the technician explained. "Seven years tomorrow…right, you two?"

Jack grinned. "Yeah, that's right. We'll have to plan the annual pub crawl for when we get back. Maybe this year we can find a place that has karaoke."

That comment made Owen laugh, the first time that day. "Oh yeah…Dragon Boy can belt 'em out. What was that…two years ago?"

Tosh chuckled. "I'll never listen to 'Wind Beneath My Wings' in quite the same way again."

"If we're done teasing the dragon," Ianto said primly, "perhaps we should address Owen's trying to pull that bartender, and she turning him down flat by dumping a beer all over him?"

Tosh was sent into a fit of giggles. "And the cab driver refused to let him ride in his cab, because he smelt so bad!"

"And he tried to convince Ianto to let me take him home in the SUV," Jack added, his own laughter getting the best of him.

"No way was I letting him into the SUV smelling like a brewery," the dragon snorted, his own laughter barely containable.

"Yeah, laugh it up the lot of you," Owen demanded, sounding put out, but there was a trace of humor in it. "Maybe I should point out Harkness' being propositioned by that Scottish bird who thought he looked just like her dad?"

Jack almost had to pull the car over, he was laughing so hard. He'd taken quite a hit to his ego, over that woman with the daddy issues. "I was perfectly fine, until she started up with that! Sorry, I might enjoy a good shag every once in a while, and I might have a few kinks, but being asked if she could call me 'daddy' in the middle of the actual act was just a bit too much."

He suddenly realized what that sounded like, and took yet another quick glance at the dragon. Ianto was staring out the window, and Jack couldn't really make out his face. For some reason he had the sudden notion to apologize, but he didn't. Not in front of the others.

The atmosphere in the vehicle lifted a little as four members of the team recalled their various run-ins with previous anniversary celebrations, including some amusing stories about Suzie. Jack glanced up into the rearview mirror; he could just make out Gwen, and while she was laughing, he could tell that she was feeling left out. Well, hopefully this mission would solidify the team a bit, and when they got back they could all go out and celebrate.

* * *

><p>As predicted, Owen about went apoplectic when the word "camping" was uttered.<p>

Jack barely kept his 'captain' face on, he wanted to laugh that badly.

They'd found a place to park for the night, and together Jack, Ianto, and a very grudging Owen began to unload the back of the SUV. "What's the matter with a hotel?"

"People are going missing around here," Jack answered, scoffing. "Do you really wanna stay in a place run by strangers?"

The ladies already had one of the tents set up, and were working on the second one. They worked together well. Jack was impressed.

Owen dumped his load down in the empty spot next to the closest tent. "Yeah, cause sleeping outside is so much safer."

"Look at the bright side," Jack said, "we have a big, bad dragon to look out for us."

Ianto rolled his eyes. "Just don't expect me to eat anyone. I hate getting fabric caught between my teeth."

The captain laughed. "We could always find you some dragon-sized toothpicks to use."

The look the dragon gave him was very obviously, '_Don't you even think it_.'

"Besides," Tosh piped up, wiping her hands on her trousers as she stood from where she'd been pounding in a tent stake, "you know Ianto only eats maidens."

"There was a time when it was all wall-to-wall maidens," Ianto sighed over-dramatically. "Nowadays, Owen gets to them before I can even smell them."

The medic grinned. "Someone has to save them from the slavering beast, and while it's a dirty job I shall gladly do my duty to save the womenfolk of Wales."

"But I bet Ianto got his fair share, back during that time he was being worshiped by the ignorant locals," Jack teased.

"What are you talking about?" Ianto asked. "You all still worship me now, only it's for my coffee and not the fact that I could destroy your homes with a single breath."

"You also look great in a suit," Jack flirted, "although those jeans are practically sinful…" He suddenly realized what he's said, and remembered his last attempt to flirt with the dragon, and practically held his breath to see if he'd accept the come-on in the manner it was intended.

Ianto simply rolled his eyes. "Do I really need to dig out the harassment guidelines?"

Jack grinned, glad that they seemed to be back on flirting terms. 'I have a copy in my desk, just to see if I'm doing it right."

"I can assure you that you are." The dragon looked highly amused.

"This isn't getting camp set up any faster," Gwen cut in to the banter. As one, they turned to face her; she stood next to the half-finished tent, her hands on her hips and looking irritated. She pointedly glared at Ianto, as if blaming him for their topic of conversation.

Ianto just shook his head. "Gwen does have a point," he commented, his voice still tinged with laughter. "Why don't you get that last tent set up, and I'll finish unloading the SUV?"

"I'll give you a have," Jack volunteered.

* * *

><p>"So," Gwen said, "who was the last person you snogged?"<p>

Owen looked up from the pile of firewood he'd just dumped next to the impromptu fire pit Ianto had set up. "You sound like an eight-year-old. Who the hell even says 'snog', anyway?"

Jack leaned back against the open door of the SUV, the map he'd been perusing held in his left hand, forgotten as he watched his team interact once more. Tosh had taken one of the camp chairs next to Gwen, and she looked a bit uncomfortable at the question. Ianto simply rolled his eyes, working over the small fire, preparing a pot of coffee without benefit of anything to protect his skin from the heat. It still made Jack want to rush forward and check his hands for damage, even after all the time that had passed.

"It's just a bit of fun," Gwen retorted. "Mine was Rhys."

"Yeah well, there's a surprise," Owen snarked, taking one of the other chairs.

Gwen ignored him, turning to Toshiko. "Your go, Tosh."

Jack looked at his technician, who was blushing furiously. "It's easy for you," she murmured.

Ianto turned to look at her, and Jack thought he was going to call an end to it. The dragon was fiercely protective of Toshiko; they were best friends, and there was a part of Jack that was just a little bit jealous of that. But then, the captain only had himself to blame for what had happened between Ianto and himself.

"Come on," Gwen urged. "Spill the beans."

"It was Owen," she blurted, going even redder than before.

Well, Jack hadn't expected that, although Ianto didn't look all that shocked.

"Really?" Gwen asked, surprised.

"When was this?" Owen inquired, almost over the top of Gwen's question.

"Three AM," Tosh answered, "Christmas Eve, in front of the Millennium Center. We were waiting for a cab; I had mistletoe."

Jack saw when Owen recalled the event. "That was almost a year ago. You haven't been kissed since?"

"No," she answered, not looking at the medic.

A small, completely non-sarcastic, smile curled Owen's lips. "Well, lucky me then."

Toshiko must have caught the tone, because she looked at him. "And you, Owen?" She sounded almost challenging.

One corner of Owen's mouth curled upward in an almost evil grin. He stared straight at Gwen…who suddenly went pale.

Jack's stomach felt almost queasy as his instant suspicion came horribly true.

"Gwen," the medic answered.

The entire camp went quiet.

Finally, Toshiko spoke. "So…when was this?"

"Last night," he said. "After I walked you both out to your cars. I pinned her up against her car and - "

"Owen," Gwen snapped.

Jack couldn't believe how disappointed he was in both of them, but moreso Gwen. He'd told her not to let her relationship with Rhys drift, and yet she was kissing a co-worker in their own garage. That didn't even include the obvious flirting she did with him, which he'd never once given her reason to think would be anything more.

Owen simply smirked, turning to look at Jack. "Jack?"

What had once been a silly game had turned unbelievably ugly. The atmosphere hung heavy over the team, and he wanted nothing more than to lift it once more. "Are we including non-human lifeforms?"

He immediately knew he'd made a mistake when at least two sets of eyes turned to look straight at Ianto.

The dragon appeared to be shocked by the scrutiny. "Why are you staring at me for?" he asked. "Dragons don't 'snog', as you so quaintly put it."

Jack was pretty certain that he'd been that person that Ianto had kissed, and it felt like someone had punched him in the chest at the denial…although, he really couldn't say anything, since he'd tried to deflect the question in the first place.

"Oh come on," Owen scoffed.

"No, we don't," Ianto reiterated. "It's really hard to kiss anyone when you have a snout and rather large, razor-sharp teeth. I'll leave you ephemerals that sort of pleasure." He pointedly looked at Gwen, then Owen.

Gwen must not have enjoyed the attention, because she jumped to her feet. "I'm getting more firewood," she said, turning and leaving camp.

Owen got up to follow her.

_Big surprise_, Jack thought.

Then he turned to look at Ianto, who was staring back. Something of how he was feeling must have been showing in his face, because the dragon suddenly looked apologetic. He put the coffee pot back into the fire, then joined Jack at the SUV. "Jack, I – "

"I haven't had a chance to ask you yet," Jack interrupted, "but have your senses picked up any sort of Rift activity in the area?" He didn't want to hear the apology, because that would mean he'd have to make one over his own comment, and quite honestly that wasn't really something he wanted to get into while in the middle of the countryside.

Ianto accepted the change of subject, but there was something in his eyes that told Jack he was going to try again some other time. "No, nothing," he answered. "Whatever's out here, I'm pretty certain it's not due to the Rift, unless something was dumped and it migrated out from Cardiff."

"That could be a possibility," Jack mused. "Maybe Weevils?"

Ianto shrugged. "Anything is possible, Jack. We just don't have enough evidence yet…well, except that Owen is going to try his hardest to seduce Gwen." The disgust in his voice was obvious.

Jack glanced toward the fire; Toshiko was still there, feeding some more wood into the pit. "I feel bad for Tosh." He was well aware of his technician's feelings toward their medic, and while he couldn't understand them, he accepted them as part of Toshiko Sato.

"As do I. But she knows how he is, and while she doesn't like it, she knows there isn't anything she can do about it."

Jack still didn't like it, but there really wasn't anything they could do. He decided another change of subject was in order, and he wanted to make sure that Ianto knew that they would be talking again. "Listen, Ianto – "

"Jack!"

What was it about Gwen Cooper's timing…?

They both turned as Gwen barreled into camp. She bent over, her hands on her knees, breathing hard. The two moved to join her, Jack putting a hand on her back to steady her. "What happened? Where's Owen?"

The woman regained her breath, and what she told them was enough to make Jack's blood run cold.


	23. The Harvest Chapter Two

The Harvest - Chapter Two

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, more's the shame

Author's note: Here is chapter two of The Harvest, which is my version of "Countrycide". Thanks once again to everyone out there reading, and reviewing, and alerting, you make my day. I do hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

><p><em><strong>30 October 2007<strong>_

The corpse was disgusting.

Ianto had seen its like before, but only with game animals. This was obviously human though, and it was just wrong that it looked as if someone or something had cleaned and dressed the body, as if in preparation for storage. It was just drawing insects, which meant it hadn't been there long.

He turned away. He may have been a carnivore himself, but that didn't mean he enjoyed looking at dead bodies.

His mind wandered back to camp, before they'd all found themselves called away by an upset Gwen. After that silly snogging game – and Ianto didn't really like that word, to be honest – he'd seen it, as Jack had pretended to lean casually against the SUV, that he'd somehow hurt the immortal. It had surprised him, and the dragon had wanted to apologize for it, but Jack had cut him off. The thing was, Jack had been the one to try to dance around the subject; he apparently hadn't counted on two of his team assuming that Ianto himself was the "non-human lifeform" that Jack had asked about.

And Ianto had been truthful: dragons didn't kiss. His kind had never developed that expression of affection, so he hadn't lied about that. But, they hadn't asked about what he did in human form…and the last person he'd kissed like that had been Jack, although that had been almost as long ago since Toshiko had shared a kiss with Owen. He was surprised that Jack had remembered it, let alone that he hadn't expected Ianto to have kissed anyone else.

And then, Gwen had run in and interrupted them, just ask the dragon had thought Jack was going to say something fairly important.

Owen's voice pulled him back to the investigation, and Ianto cursed himself for not concentrating.

"Male," Owen said, from his position kneeling next to the body, "late 40's, early 50's. Wasn't killed here, there's no sign of blood spatter or signs of a struggle. I'd say he was brought here after he'd died."

"Why do that?" Gwen asked. "It's not like whoever it was, was trying to bury him here."

Ianto had to admit it was a good question. And, if it was some sort of hunter, then why leave his kill behind? Why go to all the trouble to prepare the carcass, only to drop it at the first sign of trouble? It didn't make any sense.

"Maybe you disturbed them," Toshiko suggested.

"Maybe it's a warning," Ianto added.

"What? Marking their territory?" Jack asked, squatting next to Owen. "There are some alien species that do that sort of thing, so it's possible. " He turned to the medic. "Cause of death?"

"Impossible to say," he answered, using a small probe to poke at various parts of the corpse. "The body's been stripped of its flesh and bodily organs. All that's left is this carcass."

"Could it be Weevils?" Gwen asked.

"Nope," Jack answered. "Weevils don't come out this far." He stood. "No, more like another alien race entirely."

"Hunting," the dragon murmured.

Jack looked at him sharply. "I'd have to agree with that – "

A sudden noise interrupted the captain's response; to Ianto, it sounded exactly like – "The SUV," he snapped, turning and starting to run back toward camp.

He could hear Jack racing beside him, as Ianto barreled through the trees. He caught sight of the camp quickly, and he cursed under his breath as he saw the SUV crash into the tents, knocking them to the ground, and then backing up and proceeding to demolish the rest of their supplies. It avoided the fire pit, for which Ianto was grateful; he didn't want to have to deal with the damage rolling over the stones he'd used to build it would cause.

Whoever was driving the SUV cleared the campsite, and headed toward the road.

Jack let loose an incoherent shout of pure rage, and Ianto couldn't blame him. None of them would catch the vehicle on foot…

He put on a burst of speed, reaching into himself and triggering the transformation from human to dragon.

Ianto felt the power swirling around him, and as soon as his wings were out he was launching himself into the air, hoping to be able to stop whoever it was who was stealing their SUV. Three powerful wing strokes and he was slicing through the air, slowing gaining on their transport.

He knew, once it reached the open road, the dragon wouldn't be able to catch up, and so it had to be while it was still maneuvering over uneven ground and couldn't gain its full speed. He flattened his body as much as he could, knowing that being so close to the ground while trying to fly would make it more difficult to gain speed, and so wanted to decrease drag as much as he could.

The dragon wasn't about to let the thief – or thieves – get away.

Within three more wing beats he had caught up, and thoughts of how he was going to actually get them to stop imposed themselves. There were two things he could actually do, and while outracing the vehicle, then landing in front of it, would be the simplest the dragon didn't relish getting hit by a reinforced SUV going as fast as it could over bad terrain. And so, he did the only thing he could.

He dropped down onto the roof of the vehicle.

His rear claws scrabbled for purchase on the roof, while his front claws missed entirely and came down onto the SUV's bonnet, rocking the entire suspension.

The SUV's design had been a joint effort, between Jack, Suzie, and Toshiko, back right after the technician had come to work for Torchwood. Jack had decided they'd needed a better vehicle than the panel van they'd been using, and so the three had sat down to discuss just what they'd require. Ianto had bowed out, not knowing much about ephemeral vehicles besides how to drive them, but he'd been the one to suggest the heavy-duty suspension. Jack had added the idea of reinforced roll bars and body panels, and later on the captain had said it was because some day it might have to serve as a dragon perch. Although it had been in a joking manner, little had Jack known he'd be speaking the truth.

The dragon knew he could have the scratches in the paint repaired, but there was no way he was going to let anyone steal their vehicle.

However, he failed to take into account Newton's First Law of Motion:

_An object in motion tends to remain in motion, unless acted upon by an external force._

He remembered it suddenly as whoever was driving the SUV slammed on the brakes.

The dragon tried to keep his grip, but ended tumbling tail over snout over the bonnet of the SUV. He landed painfully on his back, the wind pushed out of his lungs with such force a small bout of flame escaped from his snout as he forcibly exhaled. His head smacked into the vehicle's grill, and while the dragon had an extremely hard skull, he still saw a few stars.

He tried to move, but a sudden sharp pain along one wing had him on his back once more. A stray thought told him that whoever was in the driver's seat could very well try to roll the SUV over him to get out of the way, but the sound of footsteps running away put paid to that notion. The dragon wanted to get up and go after them, but all he could do was turn just enough to make out who was leaving the scene.

The dragon blinked. That couldn't be right…

More footsteps came from the direction he'd come from, and he realized it must be the team. He heard someone yell his name; it was Jack, and the immortal came skidding around the bonnet of the SUV, his eyes wide in surprise.

"That way," the dragon managed to get out, around his attempts to get his breathing back under control. He pointed toward the direction of the fleeing thief.

Jack nodded, and took off in the direction indicated, followed by Gwen. Both had guns out, and another vague thought passed through telling him that he really needed to go over basic gun safety with the woman when they got back, because with the way she was holding the weapon, if she tripped Jack was liable to get a bullet in the back…

Owen and Toshiko appeared in his line of sight. "Why aren't you up yet, Dragon Boy?" the medic said, trying to sound sarcastic but ended up more concerned than anything else.

"Just…catching my breath," the dragon answered, finally able to draw enough oxygen into his lungs.

"Yeah, well, that was an impressive tumble you took. Keep down and let me check you out."

"I'm fine," the dragon argued. "Nothing much can hurt me, remember?"

"Then why aren't you off chasing the fucker who stole the SUV?"

"Like I said, just had the wind knocked out of me. I'm just fine. How did they manage to get ahold of it, anyway?" The dragon made to roll over onto his front…

And hissed in pain as he tried to move his right wing.

He craned his head around, and grimaced as he saw the tear in the skin along the third major vane, blood gathering around the wound. While as a dragon he was, indeed, very hard to injure, his wings were the most delicate part of his body, and were more prone to damage.

Owen must have noticed at the same time, judging by the "Shit!" that escaped him. Toshiko gasped, resting her hand on the dragon's shoulder.

"Well," the dragon said, "that's unexpected."

"Stay still," Owen snapped. "Tosh, get me my kit out of the back." The technician hastened to obey. "Okay, I'm gonna need to stitch that up. You know how you did it?"

The dragon sighed. "Only thing I remember is flying over the bonnet. Then, of course, being flat on my back."

The medic circled the dragon's prone body, to get better access to the torn wing. "So much for nothing hurting you." He sounded almost pleased by the circumstances. He crouched by the area of damage. "I'll get the bleeding stopped, then we can take care of the stitches. This gonna to affect you shape-changing?"

The dragon considered. "Shouldn't think so." One of the first things Toshiko had wanted to do when she'd found out that he was a dragon, was to test to see where all the extra mass – including wings – went when Ianto was in human form. All of her instruments had shown was the power in the change itself, and nothing about what exactly happened when he changed. It was still a mystery. And, as he'd never changed while a wing had been damaged, he could only assume he would be fine.

"Here, Owen." Toshiko passed the medical kit to the kneeling medic, who accepted it with a murmured thanks.

"I'm gonna have to numb this up," Owen said.

"I don't think you'll get a needle through the skin," the dragon answered.

Footsteps drew all their attention back toward the direction the thief had taken; it was Jack, followed closely by Gwen, coming back from their chase. "Got away from us," Jack panted, leaning against the bonnet close to the dragon's head. "And why aren't you up yet, Ianto?"

"Dragon Boy hurt himself with that stunt," Owen answered acerbically.

"I see that." Jack rested his hand on the side of the dragon's snout, stroking lightly. "So much for being indestructible."

The dragon sighed, enjoying the gentle touch. He would never get tired of the way Jack touched him, in either dragon or human form. "Next time I'll let someone else fly off after the SUV. How did it get stolen, anyway?"

Jack's eyes turned…toward Owen. The medic, who was busily preparing a hypodermic, rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry, okay? I left the keys in the boot when we were unloading."

"What happened to basic security protocols?" the dragon asked sharply. This was inexcusable. They could have lost the SUV, along with all of the highly secret equipment inside. Much of that equipment was irreplaceable, and if someone figured out how to use it…there was no telling what damage might be done.

"I was busy, all right? And if you don't quit bitching at me, I'm gonna do a crap job with this! I ballsed up. I'm only human…unlike a certain Second who had to tear himself up chasing after the damned car."

"Looks like the body wasn't a warning," Jack mused, still stroking the dragon's snout. "More like a decoy."

That was worrying. It would mean…

"That would mean we've been watched since we arrived," Gwen echoed the dragon's own thoughts.

"Ianto," Jack said, "did you get a look at whoever took the SUV?"

"I did," the dragon answered, wincing as Owen started patching up his wing. "Jack…it looked human."


	24. The Harvest Chapter Three

The Harvest - Chapter Three

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine, I would have treated it better.

Author's note: Here we go, the next chapter. I do hope you enjoy it. Thanks to all my readers! You are all awesome

* * *

><p><em><strong>30 October 2007<strong>_

Anyone looking at Ianto in dragon-form, would have assumed that his scales were hard and cold, like a fishes'. Nothing was farther from the truth; they were warm, and as smooth as the beach stones Jack and his brother used to collect back on Boeshane. Jack wasn't about to admit it, but he loved touching the dragon.

He watched as Owen carefully stitched up the dragon's torn wing. He wasn't used to seeing Ianto injured. It had only happened half a dozen times in the seven years they'd been running Torchwood, and he always bounced back almost immediately. This wound though…Jack got the impression this would take a while to heal. And he also knew this meant Ianto was grounded, quite literally. The dragon wasn't going to like that at all.

Jack's hand gently stroked the side of the dragon's snout, the glittering scales under his fingers warm and dry and so very alive. Ianto had curled his neck so his head would be close to the captain's body, encouraging the caress. Jack's chest warmed at the trust the dragon was showing by letting him touch him in such an intimate way.

Ianto's declaration that the person who'd stolen the SUV had been human had been a surprise. Jack considered that it could have been a humanoid-looking alien, but Ianto had been certain. Trailing his fingers along the strong jaw, he asked, "Can you describe him?"

The dragon hummed. "A little shorter than you," he answered. "Brown hair, wearing jeans and a gray pullover. I didn't see his face since he was running away from me, though. He certainly looked human to me."

"Maybe whoever took the SUV doesn't have anything to do with the body in the woods?" Gwen suggested. She didn't look very happy.

"More likely we got a serial killer on the loose," Owen cut in. He was using a long, curved needle on the dragon's wing, gently stitching the skin back together. "We set up camp next to his latest victim, and when we ran off to investigate he took the opportunity to get away in our car."

It made sense, but if it had happened that way, it would have been a hell of a coincidence. They just happened to camp there? They just happened to disturb a serial killer? "But you said the body hadn't been killed there," Jack pointed out.

"Maybe he just dropped him when he saw us there?" Toshiko suggested, from where she knelt next to Owen, her own small hand resting on the thin wing vane as he fixed the damage.

"He would have gotten blood all over him from the corpse," Jack said. "Was there blood in the SUV?"

"Didn't check," Owen admitted. Toshiko shook her head.

Gwen walked around to the drivers' side of the vehicle, peering in through the open door. "There's nothing," she reported.

"Maybe there's an accomplice?" Toshiko asked.

"I think we're making assumptions here," Jack put in, "and we don't have any proof either way. Human or human-shaped alien….we need to find out which one it is, whether this really is our jurisdiction."

"Jack," Gwen said, getting that look on her face that said she was going to argue about something. "Even if we're dealing with a human killer, we need to try to find the missing people and stop whoever it is from killing again."

The captain didn't want to deal with this right now, but he had no choice. "Gwen, it's not our job to stop human killers – "

"But you can't let them get away with this!"

"I'm not saying that. But if we discover that's what this is, then we turn it over to the local constabulary. We let them handle it." He pinned her with his sharpest glare, willing to make her understand.

She met his glare with one of her own, finally nodding. "Just so long as someone knows. That's all I ask."

"Fine," Owen snarked. "If we're all done with the pissing contest, I'm done with Dragon Boy here."

Ianto shifted slightly, turning his head toward his injured wing and away from Jack's stroking fingers. The captain was sorry for it.

He experimentally extended the wing, and a hiss escaped from his snout. "Thank you, Owen," the dragon said.

"Not a problem. Just don't do it again."

Ianto twisted his body, getting to his feet, then gingerly settling his wings against his back. "I'll try not to," he answered dryly.

Jack couldn't help but notice Gwen taking several steps back from the now upright dragon, but he ignored her. "Think you can shift back to your human form?"

Instead of speaking, Ianto's dragon shape began to glow, the sparkles moving until his body compacted itself back into the form of Ianto Jones. Ianto's face was pale, and he looked tired, but otherwise he seemed fine.

"Any pain?" Owen asked, putting away his kit.

"More like an ache," Ianto answered. "It isn't anything I can't handle."

"All right. But if it gets worse, change back to dragon. And no flying!"

Ianto rolled his eyes. "As if I would." He turned to Jack. "What's our next move then?"

Jack was glad to get back on topic. He was even gladder to see that the dragon appeared to be fine. He pulled the map he'd been using earlier out of his pocket, spreading it out onto the bonnet of the SUV. "If I'm right, then our would-be thief was running toward here." He stabbed his finder down on a small spot on the map; the name 'Brynblaidd' was written there. "I think we should check out this place, see what we can find out."

"We sure he went there?" Owen asked.

"No," Jack admitted. "But that was the direction he was heading toward when Gwen and I lost him. Plus it's the only village within thirty miles. I think it's worth a shot."

"At least we can drive there," the medic snarked, unimpressed. "I'd hate to have to walk it."

* * *

><p>The village of Brynblaidd looked deserted.<p>

It sent a shiver down Jack's spine.

He parked the SUV next to the village green, getting out of the vehicle, followed by his team. The captain felt inordinately proud of them as they lined up just behind him.

Brynblaidd resembled Ddraig Llyn, in that the buildings around the village were built of sturdy stone and whitewashed wood, but that was where any closeness ended. There was an eeriness about the place, as if it had been abandoned. It was far too quiet, and even the local wildlife seemed subdued, as if waiting for something to happen.

"Why would anyone want to live here?" Owen asked, trying to sound sarcastic but the words came out more hushed than anything else.

"This place…it's not right," Ianto murmured.

"Where is everyone?" Gwen demanded. "This place might be small, but there should be some villagers about. You don't think that whatever killed that man and stole the SUV, maybe got them too?"

"Ianto, Tosh…take that side of the village," Jack ordered, pointing toward the left. "Owen, Gwen, and I will take the other side. We'll meet up back here."

Ianto nodded, sliding the action on his gun as he and Toshiko headed in the direction Jack had indicated. Jack turned away from his Second and technician, leading the other two members of his team toward what looked like an inn.

"Is it smart?" Gwen asked, catching up and walking next to Jack.

"What do you mean?" the captain asked, drawing his Webley from its holster at his waist.

"I mean letting Tosh go off like that, with…Ianto."

Oh, this was not the time to be dealing with Gwen's suspicion. "Yes, it's very smart," he growled. "Not only is Ianto the best we have in the field, but he and Tosh work very well together. Now, I suggest you finally leave your prejudices at the door, Gwen. They aren't welcome in Torchwood."

He lengthened his stride, wanting to get away from her. He must have been completely blind to her faults when he'd hired her; he honestly hadn't realized that she'd be this way toward her own teammate. Gwen was so caring and compassionate to strangers, and yet couldn't be bothered to be that way with people she had to trust with her life, and vice versa. It didn't make sense to him.

Jack entered the inn first, his gun leading the way. The interior was gloomy; the door led directly into a dining room, the pale sunlight entering the room through the windows, dust motes dancing in the light. It looked as if the place hadn't seen a customer in days.

He motioned to his companions to look around. Jack headed toward the back, his gun out, the small hairs at the back of his neck standing straight up. Ianto had been correct; this place wasn't right, and the captain was beginning to suspect that things were a lot stranger than any of them was giving them credit for.

The sound of vomiting drew him back, and he found Gwen in the kitchen, leaning over and hacking what was left of her lunch onto to the floor. He rested a hand on her back. "You okay?" he checked.

She pointed around the countertop she was using to prop herself up on. "Over there."

Jack left her, circling the counter…to discover another butchered body. Hanging over it was a bug light, drawing away whatever insects would have been swarming the corpse and making a zapping noise when one would fly into it.

It was far more disturbing, that light, than the actual body.

It just screamed "premeditation."

Owen entered the kitchen, checking on Gwen himself before joining Jack at the body. "Shit!"

Jack didn't have time to say anything; a door slamming had him running out of the kitchen, calling Gwen to come with him as he went. His heart was hammering in his chest; he didn't want to admit it, but this place was disturbing him, and he wasn't easily disturbed like that. It should have been a normal, Welsh village, and yet, it wasn't. Something was there, and Jack was beginning to suspect that aliens didn't have anything to do with it.

He hit the front door of the inn, pushing it open, standing in the doorway long enough to check if anyone was outside waiting for them. There wasn't, and Jack stepped outside, his weapon at the ready. He could hear Gwen following, her boots crunching in the gravel, coughing as she tried to clear her throat of the sick she'd just puked up. "What the hell is going on?" she asked, sounding spooked.

_Spook_. Yes, that would be a good word to describe what was going on, if Jack actually believed in ghosts. This village was as close to haunted as he was willing to admit, the wind whistling through the abandoned buildings as he and Gwen stood there, circling around each other as they tried to find what had caused that door to slam shut like that.

There was nothing.

Another building sat next to the inn; Jack wanted to check it out, but Owen was still at the inn…he debated leaving the medic on his own, deciding it would be a really bad idea. "Let's get Owen, then we'll check out the next building."

He wasn't about to leave any of his team alone in Brynblaidd.

Owen was on his way out as they headed back in, so together the three made their way to the next building. Jack stood to the side of the door, his hand on the knob, as Gwen and Owen took positions on the other side, awaiting his signal, their guns ready.

Jack nodded, then pulled the door open. It was a house, the door leading into an entry with a staircase on one wall. It was just as deserted as the inn, and Jack thought he caught the sharp tang of blood on the air has he made his way down the small hall past the stairs.

Gwen squealed, and he spun around, his Webley up and cocked. Gwen had taken a step into a room just off the entry hall, and she was backing out, something wet making dark shoe marks on the well-worn wood of the floor.

The captain knew, without looking, that it was blood.

"There's another body in there," she gagged. "Just like the others."

Jack motioned Owen forward, and the medic ducked into the room. The immortal peeked inside, and sure enough, there was another stripped body lying on the floor.

"What did this?" Gwen asked, her voice rising almost hysterically. "It can't be a human, it just can't!"

Jack grabbed her by the arm. "You need to focus, Gwen."

She laughed weakly. "I should be at home, having dinner with Rhys. What am I doing here with you? Aren't you scared, Jack?"

Jack was, but he wasn't going to admit it. He wasn't scared for himself; it was for his team, and whatever was in this village that was killing and then dressing the victims as if they were just pieces of meat. He knew that letting that fear get to him was the quick way of getting people killed, and he wasn't about to risk that.

He thought about Ianto and Toshiko, doing their own search on the other side of the village. Had they found more bodies? Jack trusted Ianto to protect Tosh, even if he was injured. He had to remain calm and do the same with Owen and Gwen.

"We need to move on," he said sharply, needing Gwen to listen to him and to control her own terror. "We have a couple more buildings, then we can meet Ianto and Tosh and see what they found out. In the meantime, you need to get a grip, Gwen. Letting your fear take over is the quick way of getting yourself and possibly your teammates killed."

She looked up at him, and Jack could see the horror swimming in her eyes. She wasn't ready for this, that was obvious. But they had to rely on each other, if they were to find out what had happened.

Gwen nodded. Jack returned it, then called to Owen.

They had a few more things to check, before they could meet up with their teammates.


	25. The Harvest Chapter Four

The Harvest - Chapter Four

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, I would have treated it better.

Author's note: Here's the next chapter. Thanks to everyone out threre readng this and my other stories, I really appreciate the support.

* * *

><p><em><strong>30 October 2007<strong>_

Together, Ianto and Toshiko made their way in the direction Jack had indicated, each with their guns drawn.

Ianto normally didn't care for guns, but he knew there were times that having one was necessary. This was one of those times, when he needed to be able to protect one of his teammates from an unknown threat. Being a dragon meant that he had natural defenses of his own: his flame, the fact that he couldn't be damaged too easily, and his connection to the natural world, even if that connection only lent itself to what he termed 'parlor tricks'.

In his human form, he of course knew what Jack had taught him about self-defense; and there was also the fact that he was a bit stronger than a normal human, and his skin was tougher even if it wasn't obvious by sight or touch. It took a lot to put Ianto Jones down in either form, and it made him eminently qualified to protect his teammates – his family – in almost any circumstance.

But, with the injury he'd sustained in trying to stop the SUV, Ianto felt…strange. A throbbing pain hovered somewhere under his right shoulder blade, pulsing in time with his heartbeat. He'd lied to Owen about the strength of the pain; but he knew he couldn't risk being down, when they knew so little about what was going on. All team members needed to be on alert.

The pain though, hadn't really started until he'd changed back into human. Whatever Owen had used to numb the wound while he'd stitched it up had held up until the time he shifted from dragon and into Ianto Jones. He hoped he hadn't done any more damage to it, but it couldn't be helped. Once he returned home, he could change back, and rest his wing for as long as needed.

Right now, his team needed the human him.

The village had a surreal quality about it, that sent a shiver down Ianto's spine. He was used to the warm and friendly atmosphere of Ddraig Llyn, and this was its direct opposite. It was as if the entirety of Brynblaidd had simply left, abandoning the town. He was familiar with the story of the _Mary Celeste_, and Ianto realized that this was what it must have felt like, walking on board that empty ship, with nothing but ghosts for company.

He glanced at Toshiko; his friend walked beside him, her own gun out and ready for use. Her face was blank, but Ianto knew the village was affecting her as badly as it was him. And yet, he knew she wouldn't let it get to her, or get in the way of doing the job they came there to do. He was glad that they'd been paired. Ianto enjoyed working with Toshiko almost as much as he did Jack.

A sudden screeching filled the air.

Ianto stopped, his heart racing. He looked around, but saw nothing.

"What was that?" Toshiko asked, also searching for the source of the sound.

The dragon shook his head. "I think it was just a fox." He wasn't sure; he'd heard a fox's call before, and it was similar. But there was something else about it that shivered his scales, as his father would have said, and Ianto didn't like the sensation at all.

They continued down the street. The last building was a house with a stone wall around it. Toshiko covering, Ianto made his way up the gravel path toward the front door.

It was locked.

He stepped away. The stone wall seemed to continue around the entire property. "Let's check the back."

"All right," Toshiko answered, falling into step behind him, watching his back as they made their way around the house, looking for a way in. The 'alley' opened up onto a rear garden area that had a natural rise as its back boundary.

Blood reached Ianto's sensitive nostrils. He turned, and almost knocked Tosh down in his rush to step away from the bird carcass that had almost hit him in the face.

He took a closer look; the bird wasn't the only animal there, hanging from a large tree that shaded the back yard. "Someone's been busy," he murmured.

"It's a bit ironic, isn't it?" When Ianto glanced in her direction, questioning on his face, Toshiko elaborated. "They hunted these animals…and now something is hunting them."

Ianto rolled his eyes, smirking. "Only you, Tosh."

"And you love me for it."

He was going to retort, when another scream sounded over the open land. They both stiffened, lifting their weapons, scanning for the cause.

There was nothing.

"Still think it's a fox?" Toshiko asked.

Ianto didn't answer. He didn't have to.

The back door was also locked. Ianto was seriously considering kicking it in, when yet another scream – this one much closer – drew their attention. He strode toward the rise at the very rear of the property, hoping to get a better view of the surrounding landscape.

There was nothing but empty land.

He turned, meaning to go back to the house…

But Toshiko was missing.

Ianto cursed silently. He'd only turned his back for a few moments! He stalked back toward what he'd assumed was an empty house, eyes gliding along the ground, looking for any sign of his friend.

He could see nothing.

He didn't call out to her. He had a feeling it wouldn't do any good. Instead, Ianto tried the door again; it was still locked, but this time he raised his foot in order to kick it in.

A sudden rustling noise came from his left.

Ianto spun, gun pointed in that direction. He could see nothing out of the ordinary, and yet the dragon just _knew_ he was being watched. Whoever they'd been searching for had obviously taken Toshiko, and now they were playing games with him.

It suddenly occurred to him that they weren't dealing with just one person. That the man who'd attempted to steal the SUV wasn't working alone. Toshiko had suggested that very thing, back after his run-in with the SUV, but they hadn't had enough evidence to support the notion.

Well, he didn't have more now, except for his instinct which told him that not only was he not alone, but that there were more than one out there. Ianto trusted his instinct, and even though he couldn't see anything, whoever was stalking him could have been anywhere.

He edged his way toward the corner of the house, gun still raised and at the ready. He needed to know what had happened to Toshiko, and whoever was out there was the best chance of him finding out.

It was far too quiet now. Only the wind made any sound at all, rustling through the leaves of the tree and making the dangling game animals swirl and dance as if they were somehow coming back to life. A superstitious thrill traveled down Ianto's spine, fluttering just below his thumping heart.

As a dragon, he shouldn't have been worried that anyone could really hurt him, at least not badly. But the very atmosphere of the village was wearing on him, and making him jumpy. His palms were actually sweating, and he had to adjust his grip on his weapon in order not to drop it.

Only the prickling at the back of his neck warned him that he was being approached. Ianto barely had time to process it before something heavy slammed into the back of his head, knocking him to the ground.

His vision whitened out for a few, precious seconds, but Ianto didn't actually lose consciousness. A normal human would have, but his thick skull protected him from such blows. He remained on the ground, his brain forming a plan even as the pain that had accompanied his damaged wing flaired from his body's sudden impact with the unforgiving turf.

These people had taken Toshiko. He needed to find her.

Ianto remained limp as his attackers lifted him. It took all his willpower not to moan as the pain in his back intensified; he'd been grabbed by both arms, and the tension across his shoulders was incredible. Still he managed to keep quiet as they dragged him somewhere; he couldn't tell where, even if he dared open his eyes to check out his surroundings.

His captors were talking, and Ianto listened to see if they gave anything away. They mostly complained about how heavy Ianto was; not a surprise, in his human form the dragon was a bit heavier even though he didn't look it. But, one of them mentioned something about a 'harvest', and how he – Ianto – would give them good meat.

It made his blood run cold. These were humans, and they were talking about eating him, as if this was the most normal thing in the world.

_Cannibals_. In bloody _Wales_.

It was almost too much to take in. Ianto had seen some of the worst that human-kind could come up with, but this was…it was only the idea that they might take him to Toshiko that kept him from wrestling himself from their grasp and attacking the pair of them. Cannibalism was so wrong, on so many levels…Ianto couldn't wrap his mind around the idea. It sickened him, and he had to swallow roughly to avoid giving himself away by vomiting.

His captors wrestled him down some stone steps, and one let go in order to get a door open; at least, the loud squealing sounded like unoiled hinges. Ianto found himself being thrown bodily somewhere, and the dragon fell awkwardly, onto his right side.

He barely noticed the door closing, and a heavy bolt being thrown. Ianto lay on the ground, panting sharply, trying to move past the pain in his mistreated body. Damn, why hadn't he asked Owen for any more painkillers?

Oh right…because he was stubborn and hated human drugs.

That didn't make a lot of sense, now that he was apparently a prisoner of whoever was responsible for the murder in the woods, and the disappearances of seventeen people and perhaps an entire village.

He eventually levered himself upright, taking a look at his surroundings. It was a small and gloomy room, and it stank of rotted offal and dampness. It looked like some sort of storeroom, with wicked-looking meat hooks and chains hanging from the ceiling. He could tell they were underground somewhere, just from the feeling of the air against his exposed skin. A humming refrigerator took up one wall, while on another there was a very suspicious pile of clothes and shoes. There was also a ramp leading down from outside, and Ianto didn't have to wonder what it was for.

Toshiko was lying in a heap beside a crate. Ianto scrambled over to her, checking her closely. He'd barely touched her neck, to check for a pulse, when she moaned and began to move. "What hit me?" she muttered, as Ianto helped her to sit up.

"I believe it was whoever was responsible for the disappearances," he answered, settling her onto the crate. "How's your head?"

"Killing me, thanks." She took a look around. "Nice of them to give us the best guest room."

Ianto chuckled. "Yep, they certainly didn't scrimp on the accommodations."

Toshiko looked at him, her eyes narrowing. "And just how did they grab you?"

"I let them," the dragon shrugged. "It was the easiest way to find you."

The technician snorted. "Now we're both trapped. Unless you…" She made a hand gesture that Ianto interpreted to mean, _'change into your dragon form.'_

"Actually, I think it's best we sit tight," he answered. "I would really like to meet the ones behind all this." He told her what he'd overheard as they'd dragged him down into the underground room.

"Cannibals?" Toshiko asked, wide-eyed. "In Wales?"

"That was my reaction, actually."

She shuddered, and Ianto pulled her close. It was chilly in their prison, and he didn't want her to catch a chill. "You don't think it was the ones who brought us here?"

"No, I don't. I think this is bigger than anything we've ever come across before, if the village is any indication. But it's certainly not alien."

Toshiko reached down and took a small torch from her boot. She flashed the light around, getting a better look at their surroundings. "I could probably get us out of here," she mused. "There isn't a cell I don't think I could get out of."

Ianto didn't doubt her, knowing her history. "I still think we should wait to see who's leading this merry band of cannibals. We can get away then, and get the others. If they don't know already." He trusted Jack to look after Gwen and Owen, or else he would have certainly escaped to warn them.

"Get the police in here," Toshiko added, standing up. She swayed slightly, but shrugged off Ianto's helping hand in order to explore. "This is more up their alley than it is ours."

Ianto watched her, wanting to make sure she was all right. "I wonder when the last time the Welsh constabulary had to deal with cannibals."

Toshiko grinned. "Oh, this might be interesting. Can we stay and watch?"

"Toshiko Sato…you are warped. Well and truly warped."

"That's the nicest thing anyone has said to me in a long while."

She poked around the discarded clothing. "I wonder how many have been down here?"

"Well, there were seventeen disappearances that we know of."

"Makes you really wonder how many there actually are, if they can take an entire village plus seventeen strangers." She reached for the handle of the refrigerator, pulling the door open. Light spilled into the darkness of the room, dazzling Ianto's eyes for a moment.

Toshiko went pale, slamming the door closed. She looked at him, her eyes wide like saucers in shock. "The cannibals story has just been confirmed," she gasped.

Ianto went over to her, putting his arm around her. "Storage?"

He didn't have to elaborate; she nodded, swallowing thickly. "We're definitely food."


	26. The Harvest Chapter Five

The Harvest - Chapter Five

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Don't own it, I would have treated it better.

Author's note: Here is the next chapter. Thanks everyone for reading, and reviewing. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

><p><em><strong>30 October 2007<strong>_

Jack led the way toward the next building, and although he could guess what they'd find, he still thought it would be a good idea to check it out. It was a house, two stories, the stone not as well kept as it could have been with lichen and vines growing from the cracks between each stone. It looked to be as abandoned as any of the other buildings in the village, and the immortal couldn't help but grip his Webley tighter.

The three approached the front door cautiously, Jack making sure he was on point. The curtains were drawn across the windows, leaving the house looking blank.

It was a plain wooden door, and it also had a dilapidated look to it, the green paint peeling in the chill, damp air. He was about to motion Gwen and Owen to take each side, but Gwen jumped out ahead, and before Jack could stop her she'd tried the knob.

"It's locked," she murmured.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Take the right; Owen, you take the left. I'll try to open it myself." Was Gwen trying to get herself killed? It made more sense that he go first, and try to open the door. After all, anything that might come out at them couldn't kill him for long.

At least she did as he ordered, resting her back against the wall. Owen did the same, as Jack tried the door once more. The lock must have been as old as the building; it just took a little bit of strength to force it open, only to have it stopped by a chain that could only have been hooked from the inside.

That gave Jack a bit of hope that someone had survived whatever had happened there. He tried to press his eye to the gap between door and jamb, but could see nothing. He glanced at his teammates; they both looked ready, if not a little freaked out. Owen was calmer than Gwen, but that only made sense.

Jack gave a little push, and the chain gave way far too easily. It had to have been as old as the lock, and judging from the softness of the wood in the jamb, he wondered if the house had ever really been secured that much in the past. Well, that made sense; villages like this were most likely used to keeping their doors and windows open to their neighbors, not expecting trouble.

Gun firmly in hand, Jack entered the house.

There was a loud bang, followed by sharp pain all along his right side.

Suddenly, all Jack could see was the darkening sky.

He heard yelling; Owen was telling someone to '_put the gun down_', repeating himself a couple of times…at least that's what Jack thought was happening. The sky was blocked by Gwen's scared face, her hair tickling his cheeks as she bent over him.

Jack blinked, coming back to himself. He gasped, moving his hand toward the throbbing agony in his side. A quick feel revealed wetness. "Shit," he moaned, "I hate getting shot."

A terrified voice was practically screaming. "I thought you were them! I thought they'd found me!"

"Help me up," he ordered Gwen. With her support, Jack regained his feet, swaying as the pain increased. It felt as if his entire side was on fire, and he clamped his hand as hard as he could against the wound to keep it from bleeding too badly. The last thing Jack wanted to do was to die of exsanguination. It was in his top five list of ways not to die. "Damn, Ianto's going to put me on decaf for getting blood all over the coat again."

Gwen laughed; it sounded vaguely hysterical. "I think that's the last thing you have to worry about, Jack."

"Just wait until it happens to you, and you won't be so glib about it." Jack straightened as best he could, heading into the house with Gwen's help. "What do we have?" he demanded.

Owen had his gun on a young man – boy, really – who was sitting on an ugly paisley patterned chair. He was unkempt, his hair stringy and his eyes wide with terror. Tears were tracking down his dirty face as he stared at Jack. "I'm sorry," the kid moaned, "I thought you were them!"

"Who?" Jack asked sharply. "Who did you think we were?"

"Jesus, Jack," Owen swore. "Gwen, cover the cowboy here while I patch up our fearless leader before he bleeds to death."

Jack was handed off to the medic, who steered him deeper into the house. Jack let him, the agony throbbing through him in time with his heartbeat. "Why couldn't he have been a better shot and killed me?"

"Quit whining, Harkness. This is why you hired me."

They found themselves in the kitchen. Owen cleared off the table, maneuvering the immortal onto it. Jack complied, knowing that Owen had a point, and this wasn't the worst he'd ever been hurt without actually dying. By this time tomorrow, he'd be completely healed at his normal rate.

Owen snapped on rubber gloves from his kit, then lifted both of Jack's shirts. "Okay, this isn't so bad. Dragon Boy is gonna do worse to you, when he sees the blood on your coat."

Jack laughed. "Decaf."

"Most likely. Better you than me. Now, lay still and I'm gonna dig this buckshot out so you can heal cleanly."

Buckshot? Well, that would explain the spray pattern of pain he was feeling. "Just do it," he gritted out, readying himself.

"Most of the shot is near the surface," Owen reported as he rooted around in his med-kit for what he'd need. "Another inch to the left and you'd be gasping back to life and freaking out Annie Oakley even more than he already is."

"That would have been preferable."

"You're such a sissy." Owen held up a hypodermic. "I'm going to numb the area, then get started."

"Isn't this where you quip about feeling a small prick?"

"Are you kidding? I've worked with you long enough to know what sort of shit I'd be in for if I said anything of the sort."

Jack barely felt the needle past the burning of the wounds. Whatever was in the shot seemed to take effect almost immediately, and the pain faded to a dull ache. "That's some good stuff."

"Actually, it's what I used on Ianto when I stitched him up," Owen answered, holding up a pair of forceps so Jack could see what he planned on doing next. "I figure with your hyper metabolism I'd want to use the best for you."

That was probably a good thing, Jack supposed, as he felt Owen begin to dig out the pellets. He glanced up; Gwen was also in the kitchen, her eyes wide in shock, with the kid who'd shot him standing beside her, his face pale. He raised his head in order to pin the kid with what Ianto called his "Captain's Glare." It seemed to work; the boy cringed. "What's going on here?" Jack asked, trying not to grunt as the medic did his work.

The kid shook his head. "My Mum won't know what happened! They weren't expecting me back until after the weekend!" His voice was tinged with more than a little hysteria.

"Look, we'll get you home – "

"What are you gonna do? You can't fight them! They're too strong!"

"Who are 'they'?" Jack demanded.

The kid didn't reply; he seemed to be in more shock than Jack was, and he didn't have the benefit of a shitload of buckshot pellets in him.

"What about the others?" Gwen asked.

"We're still meeting them at the village green," Jack answered. He looked over at Owen. "You about done?"

"Just about…there, the last one." The medic held up the forceps, showing off the rather large pellet. He tossed it aside, the sound of it skittering across the floor loud in the sudden silence. "I'll bandage you up, and we'll be ready to go."

Jack didn't say anything; he simply laid back, his eyes on the ceiling. A spider had taken up residence on the fixture, and the web it had woven swayed slightly.

He was worried about Tosh and Ianto. The kid they'd found seemed too much in shock to even answer anything coherently, and he'd be of no use whatsoever. That meant they wouldn't get any understanding of what was going on in the village from him, and Jack didn't like not knowing what was going on.

He could only hope that Ianto and Tosh hadn't run into any trouble. Jack trusted the dragon to look after her, and vice versa. After all, they weren't children. They knew how to look out for each other.

"Done," Owen said, stepping back. He pulled off the gloves, tossing them negligently in the corner, then offered Jack a hand up.

Jack accepted, staggering slightly on regaining his feet. Gwen handed him back his weapon, and Jack tucked it into his greatcoat pocket, not wanting to exacerbate his wound any more by trying to wrestle it into its holster. "Let's go find Ianto and Tosh," he growled, angry once more that he hadn't been killed outright.

"If they're still alive," the kid rambled. Then he flinched. "Sorry."

Jack didn't want to think about that. The dragon could handle just about anything flung at him, and Toshiko was the most scary resourceful person he'd ever met. He just knew they'd be fine, but at that moment Jack just wanted to locate them, then get the hell out of Brynblaidd. Once gone, they could call the local coppers and get them in to clean up. At least seventeen disappearances could be linked to the area, and at least three bodies to this village alone. Jack didn't hold out any hope that any of the missing were still alive, except for this kid.

Jack was in desperate need of information, and this boy was the closest he was going to get to a source.

They made their way out of the house, and back into the main street. Jack shook loose Owen's support, choosing to walk beside their new friend. "What's your name?" he asked casually, hoping to calm the kid down enough to get something out of him.

He looked surprised at being asked. "Kieran," he answered uncertainly.

"Kieran…okay. I'm Jack. That's Owen, and Gwen. We're gonna get out of this. Trust me."

Kieran shuddered. "I'm scared…"

Jack tried to smile reassuringly at him, and it seemed to work, judging from the faint smile he got back. "Yeah, I know you are."

"I'm really sorry I shot you."

Jack shrugged. "This? Had worse from shaving. You're a crappy shot." _You didn't kill me_, he thought, a little spitefully. Then he regretted it; Ianto hated it when he died, but being shot meant he wasn't at 100 percent, and that could lead to more danger for his team.

"Never picked up a shotgun before. Found that one in a closet in that house. Just had to defend myself." Kieran was still nervy, apparent from the jerky way he was speaking.

Jack looked around, scanning for threats. It was getting darker, and a cold wind was starting to blow along the deserted road. Owen had moved to walk in front of them, his gun pointed at the ground, doing his own visual search of the area. Gwen walked beside Kieran, her eyes going from the boy to their surroundings, and Jack realized he'd have to train her on basic security routines.

The pain in his side was coming back, his metabolism already working through the painkiller Owen had given him. It seemed to heighten his awareness, and not for the first time since arriving Jack was feeling as if he was being watched. He slid his Webley from his pocket, holding it down at his side, his eyes flicking at the buildings as they passed.

The SUV was parked where they'd left it; the keys were safely in the captain's pocket this time. But it wasn't alone.

A panda car had pulled in behind it. A constable wearing the familiar bright yellow hi-visibility jacket was leaning toward the passenger-side window, trying to look inside the SUV. Jack watched as he pulled away, knowing the man had been disappointed because of the one-way tint on all the windows.

There was something off about it.

Gwen sighed in relief, and would have greeted the copper, but Jack hissed at her. She turned to look at him, confusion on her face. "It's a constable," she said.

"Yeah, looks like it," Jack muttered, "but why is he interested in the SUV when there's an entire abandoned village to investigate?"

"You don't think – " Owen began, but he went quiet as the copper noticed their approach.

The man was young, and he smiled as the quartet approached. Kieran was looking decidedly spooked, and Jack couldn't blame him. "Good evening," he greeted. "Who are you, please?"

"Special Ops," Jack answered, hiding his gun behind a fold in his coat. Gwen and Owen still had theirs out, but Gwen had hers hanging at her side. Only Owen was still alert. Yes, there was definitely going to be some training after this.

The constable looked confused. "Don't know why there'd be Special Ops here. You break down or something?"

"Or something. Do you know where all the villagers are?" Jack decided bluntness was best, hoping to catch the man out.

"Sure," he answered cordially. "They're all up at the Big House." He motioned over his shoulder; there was a rather large building mostly hidden behind some trees at the far end of the village, in the direction that Ianto and Tosh had gone. The only reason Jack was seeing it now were the lights coming on within. "There's a village meeting tonight, that's why I'm here. Constabulary report. I saw the big car parked and decided to check it out."

The panda car must have come up from the opposite end of town, Jack realized, or else he and his group would have heard it. "There's more going on here than just a village meeting," he snapped.

"We've found bodies," Gwen out in. "Butchered bodies, at the inn, and in a vacant house down the road."

Jack heard Owen say something nasty under his breath, and he wanted to add to it. Gwen had worked with law enforcement long enough that she trusted it completely, and she wasn't seeing that something was definitely wrong with this situation.

"You mean the Harvest," the constable answered, smiling.

_He was in on it._

And Jack realized that the entire village of Brynblaidd had to be part of what was going on.


	27. The Harvest Chapter Six

The Harvest - Chapter Six

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine, I would have treated it better.

Author's note: Here is the next chapter. Hope you enjoy! Thanks to everyone for reading, I appreciate it!

* * *

><p><em><strong>30 October 2007<strong>_

It was a bit boring waiting for something to happen.

Ianto and Tosh passed the time by trying to work out ways to get past the very large metal door that blocked the exit.

"How are you at calculating target stress points?" Ianto mused, trying to get comfortable on the crate he was sitting on. He was doing his best to ignore the refrigerator humming quietly to itself, but it stayed at the corner of his mind like an itch he couldn't reach. "Find the weakest point, a bit of brute force…" And he would be volunteering the brute force part.

Toshiko shook her head, her hair accidentally flapping in his face. She was sitting next to him, huddled up close to his side, in order to share the dragon's somewhat unnatural – for a human – body heat. "Nice thought," she answered, "but it's reinforced."

"How about the hinges?" Ianto mused.

"That might work. There are plenty of things we could use as tools in here." Toshiko laughed. "You know, they really didn't count on holding a pair of Torchwood operatives, did they?"

Ianto snorted. It was true. He and Tosh could have escaped from this room if they'd wanted to. But both of them were waiting; waiting to see just who was behind all this. It was still mind boggling that it was actually cannibals. That had been the very last thing Ianto had expected.

He shifted slightly, trying to get into a more comfortable position. His shoulder was really beginning to throb, and he promised himself that he'd ask Owen for those painkillers next time. He didn't think the injury would affect his performance once they got out of their prison, but it was bothersome. The last time he'd been injured had been when he and Jack had tried to tackle an alien who spat pure acid; Ianto had had several very painful burns but Jack had been killed.

Once Jack had come to mind, Ianto couldn't help but wonder if the immortal had learned about the presence of the cannibals yet. He was worried about the other members of the team, but he knew Jack would look after them.

But then, a horrible thought came to him: what if the cannibals discovered that Jack couldn't die?

"Are you all right?' Toshiko asked, looking at him.

Of course, she was close, she would have felt the shiver that thought would have caused. "Just…a thought I don't think I want to share at the moment," he answered, not certain if anyone could hear their conversation.

She seemed to catch the hint; she went back to looking at the door. "You know," she said, "some of those bolts look a bit rusty. I bet we could pry a few out."

Ianto didn't get a chance to answer. The tiny window in the door slid open with a little squeal, and light filtered in from the hallway outside.

They both stiffened as the door itself opened with an even louder squeal. They remained sitting, letting whoever it was fully enter the room.

It was a woman, and if Ianto was any judge she was one of the villagers. She was an older lady, her hair wild about her face. She looked scared; but her eyes told a different story, as did the rifle she was carrying. It was obvious the fear was an act, possibly to put them at ease.

She seemed a bit nonplused to have her two prisoners sitting calmly, but she recovered quickly. "I'm not gonna hurt you," she said, even as she held the gun in their direction.

"You have a rather large rifle," Toshiko pointed out mildly.

That calm response rattled the woman even more. "Were you injured? When they took you? Can I see? I'm a nurse." Her caring tone just sounded false.

There was no way Ianto was going to let that woman get anywhere near himself and Toshiko. "Just a couple of bruises," he said, brushing the offer aside. He wondered why cannibals would care if they were hurt or not.

"Okay," the woman answered, taking a step forward. "Does anyone know you're here? Have you managed to call for help?"

Like they were going to admit that! "We don't need any help," Ianto said glibly. "So, what's going on, anyway? It's obvious you people are cannibals. Just how many have you butchered?"

Ianto didn't think he could have surprised the woman more if he'd transformed in front of her. She raised the rifle, any pretense of being frightened gone under the dragon's pointed questioning. "It's the Harvest," she answered, grinning almost madly. "You're just meat to us."

The change in her almost made Ianto shiver, even though he'd suspected her fear was nothing but play-acting. He kept his face calm, knowing that acting like everything was fine was the easiest way to throw someone off their guard. "So, what do you intend to do with us?"

She waved the gun toward them. "Get up," she answered. "We're going for a walk."

* * *

><p>Ianto noticed the smell before Toshiko did; but then, his senses were strong, even dulled as they were by his human form.<p>

The woman had taken them from their cell-like room, up a flight of steep stairs, and outside. It was obvious they'd been in some sort of storage cellar before; but seeing the entrance to the underground bunker just confirmed that belief. The cellar doors were behind a large manor house that had obviously seen better days. The stone and brick of the house were pitted and eroded, and dirty with lichen. The door their captor motioned them toward was just beyond the cellar entrance, and it had once been painted green until nature and weather had split and faded the original color to a muddy, opaque hue.

Ianto took Tosh's hand as they walked toward the door. Certainly, it would have been childs' play to disarm the woman, but Ianto still wanted to see who the leader was of the cannibals.

The stench came from just beyond that door.

He glanced at Toshiko; she was looking at the door, trepidation on her pretty face. He cursed himself; he shouldn't be letting her walk into what was an obvious abattoir, judging from that horrible odor.

Ianto just couldn't do it. He couldn't put her in danger like that.

He squeezed Tosh's hand, hoping she would get the hint, then let go. Ianto then shifted slightly, wanting to give the impression that he was going to run.

He felt the muzzle of the rifle poke him in the lower back, the woman obviously picking up on his movement. Her attention was on him, just where he wanted, and Ianto acted.

He spun quickly, and with a back-handed slap he knocked the rifle away from them. He went to grab the weapon, managing to wrestle it from the woman's grasp as Toshiko was moving, her fist taking their captor in the face and knocking her to the ground.

The woman stayed down.

Ianto turned to Toshiko, who stared down at the unmoving woman. "Sorted," she stated, nodding.

"Sorted," Ianto agreed. He was so proud of her, for being ready when he made his move.

She grinned up at his fiercely. "What say we get the others and get the hell out of here?"

"Very good idea," the dragon agreed. "But I want to make sure she doesn't warn the others that we've escaped. Head down to meet Jack, and tell him I'm on my way."

Toshiko looked like she wanted to argue, but she nodded once. Ianto handed her the rifle, then gave her a quick buss on the cheek. "Off you go."

She trotted off around the house, and it was only when Ianto had lost sight of her that he got to work. He went to lift the unconscious woman…his shoulder instantly protested, but he saw it through, slinging her over his good shoulder and heading back toward the cellar, meaning to lock her in where he and Tosh has been.

He got her down there, dumping her not very carefully onto the filthy floor. Ianto couldn't bring himself to care about her; she was a cannibal, and ate her own kind. That sort of thing was anathema to dragon-kind, and he couldn't understand why someone would choose to do it. It was evil, and wrong.

The heavy door shut and locked behind him, Ianto headed back up, meaning to follow Toshiko back to the middle of the village. He'd closed the cellar, and was just past the door to the house and the horrible smell, when something slammed into his back.

The first blow was low, and would only leave a bruise. It was the second strike, as Ianto was turning, that sent him to his knees…it hit right across his bad shoulder, in the area that had been hurting ever since he'd changed after damaging his wing.

Agony rolled through him in horrible waves that had his vision going white, then dark. He was barely aware of another blow, this one across the back of his head, but it knocked him face-first in the grass.

Ianto felt paralyzed by the pain. His mind went muzzy with it, and he couldn't concentrate. He knew he was being lifted, he was aware of that, but he couldn't see, and he couldn't fight back.

He was helpless.

Someone pulled on his right arm, yanking his injured shoulder, and Ianto couldn't help but moan. He was dragged, almost losing consciousness before being dropped onto something hard, which had to be a floor. He was rolled over, landing once more on his painful shoulder, but this jolt cleared his vision.

A man was staring down at him, a manic glare on his ugly features. "What have you done, meat?" he snarled, waving a wicked-looking cleaver in front of Ianto's face. "What have you done with my wife?"

Ianto didn't answer. He couldn't. He was still too stunned by the blows he'd taken.

The cannibal bared his teeth, brandishing the cleaver. "You're just meat to us, boy," he went on, "and we tenderize meat first before we bleed it."

Then the man was gone, replaced by another, this one in a gray jumper…and Ianto's brain recognized him as the man who'd stolen the SUV. He held what registered to him as a baseball bat.

Ianto knew he had to get up. It was obvious he was about to be beaten, and while it really wouldn't damage him short-term, enough blows over an extended period of time could hurt him. And if they kept striking his wounded shoulder, it could get even worse.

"There was a girl with him," he heard the first cannibal say. "We need to find her and bring her back."

_No._ Ianto couldn't risk them going after Toshiko. She was his friend, and he wasn't about to watch as she was dragged back to face the fate that these sick bastards had in store for her. He had to give her time to find Jack, and to get away. He couldn't let these cannibals find her, or the others.

Ianto really didn't care what happened to him; but he would always protect his friends.

_His dragon-friends._

With that thought, Ianto reached down deep within, where the spark of his magic lived. Touched it, and triggered it…

But nothing happened.

Ianto panicked. He couldn't transform. Something was blocking his magic. Maybe it was the original injury; or maybe it was something else. He didn't know, but he had to do something.

Hands grabbed him, and pain shot through him once more at the rough handling. Ianto tried once again to change into his dragon-form…

The magic flared to life, and he felt his very body twist and change, his bones realigning into their real shape. His wings unfurled, and the pain from that was indescribable. He could hear the screams and shouts of the cannibals as the transformation overtook him, and his agonized roar joined them as they echoed throughout the room he'd been dragged into.

He couldn't completely stretch his wings; there wasn't enough space within the cluttered room for that. His tail was curled tightly against his body as well, and the dragon knew he'd made a mistake changing within that enclosed space.

But he hadn't had a choice.

He had to keep them there, and to protect Toshiko and his teammates.

The dragon felt blows against his scaled body, and he couldn't help but chuckle at the effort. "You think your puny weapons can hurt me?" he laughed. He couldn't let them know just how badly he was injured; he tucked his damaged wing tightly against his side, hoping they wouldn't notice the dark stitches in the leathery hide.

He inhaled, feeling his flame burst into life as his bellows-like lungs pulled in oxygen.

The dragon lifted his head, and the flame escaped.


	28. The Harvest Chapter Seven

The Harvest - Chapter Seven

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, I would have treated it better.

Author's note: Here is the next chapter of The Harvest. One more after this one, and then we move on to Mind Games, the Dragon-Verse version of "Greeks Bearing Gifts". Thanks to everyone reading and such. I hope you like this!

* * *

><p><em><strong>30 October 2007<strong>_

Jack and Owen both had their guns trained on the grinning constable, while Gwen simply stared at him in shock.

In a way, Jack couldn't blame her. Being a part of any sort of law enforcement agency – or even the armed forces, as he'd been – meant that you trusted your fellows to watch your back no matter what. Them being part of something as evil as what was going on in Brynblaidd was something a person simply didn't even consider.

And yet, at the same time, she needed to learn fast that she could only trust her teammates from now on. It didn't help that there was one person on that team that she didn't trust. It angered him; Ianto was perhaps the only one in Torchwood – and Jack himself, of course – that the mortal members of the team _could_ trust to look out for them in life-or-death situations. The dragon was tough, and while he could be injured, he didn't let it stop him from protecting the others.

And, if Jack thought he understood the idea of dragon-friends correctly, Ianto had pretty much declared them all his family. That would make him even harder to stop.

"What is the Harvest?" Jack snapped, wanting as much information as he could get.

The PC's grin turned into a slow smile. "Every ten years, this is our Harvest. You're just meat to us."

Jack felt his gorge rise, and he swallowed it back down with difficulty as he put it all together. The disappearances, the butchered corpses…

"Only in the countryside," Owen groaned, apparently working it out for himself as well. "You sick fuckers."

"But why?" Gwen asked, looking ill. "Why do it?"

They were all on the same page then, about what was going on in the village. "Doesn't matter," Jack answered. "Owen, cuff our cannibal PC and stick him in the back of his own car. We need to go and find Ianto and Tosh."

The constable laughed. "They're already meat for the Harvest," he said. "You're too late."

For a second, Jack mourned. The thought of losing Tosh and Ianto – especially Ianto – swept over him and he wanted to curl up and give in.

But he didn't. Instead, he turned his own smile onto their prisoner. "Then you have no idea who you're dealing with, if you think that."

The copper's smile faded, confusion flickering in his eyes as he must have read Jack's certainty.

And Jack _was_ certain. He was certain that Ianto and Toshiko were just fine. Certainly, they could have found themselves confronted by the villagers, but the captain knew his Second and his technician very well indeed. He knew that Ianto would do anything within his ability to protect Tosh, and she would do the same. Plus, Ianto was a dragon, the last of his kind. Yes, the bastard who'd tried to steal the SUV had seen the dragon, but that didn't mean that he would have been believed. Even if he had been, these cannibals would have no idea how to stop a dragon.

A vague niggling whispered to him that Ianto was injured, that it would put him at a disadvantage, but Jack pushed it away. It wouldn't matter that the dragon had been hurt; he _knew_ his Second. He _knew_ nothing would stop Ianto from doing what needed to be done.

He had faith in Ianto Jones.

Owen holstered his gun, then manhandled the cannibal constable toward the panda, and not being too gentle about it. Jack kept him covered, not wanting to risk the man getting loose and warning anyone else. "Make sure there's nothing he can use as a weapon," he reminded the medic.

"Got it covered," Owen answered, for once not letting loose with a sarcastic remark. He slammed the PC against the boot of his own car, patting him down roughly. Keys, truncheon, and various other bits were tossed to the ground, and then Owen used the regulation handcuffs to secure his hands behind his back.

"Do you have to be so hard on him?" Gwen fretted.

"Hell yeah, sweetheart," Owen said, sounding almost happy. "These bastards are responsible for more deaths than we even know about. They leave the butchered corpses in their own homes like bloody trophies. They fucking _eat_ human beings. Personally, I don't think I'm being hard enough!"

"How many times do I have to say it? It's Gwen. Not sweetheart. I'd think you'd get it by now."

Owen flashed a quick grin toward the ex-PC. "If you say so, darling." He turned back to their prisoner, the grin growing as he 'accidentally' rapped the man's head against the open car door, eliciting an exclamation of pain from the prisoner.

Jack watched his people, a barely concealed smirk on his face at Owen's treatment of the cannibal. Gwen needed to learn who really deserved her compassion…and it certainly wasn't that constable. He almost wished that he'd been the one doing the manhandling, but he hadn't wanted to get close enough, concerned that the man might make some sort of move against him, with his wound an obvious weakness.

He slid the gun back into his pocket. "Everyone, into the SUV," he ordered. "We're driving up to that so-called Big House. We're going after Ianto and Tosh."

* * *

><p>Jack almost drove over Toshiko in the dark.<p>

The Japanese woman was practically running down the road from the house, a rather large shotgun in her hands. Jack slammed on the brakes, the SUV coming to a crunching halt, gravel showering everywhere.

Toshiko raised the gun, the headlamps obviously blinding her to whoever had almost hit her. Jack practically jumped out of the driver's seat, calling her name as he ran forward.

A smile of relief crossed her tired features. "Am I glad to see you all," she sighed.

Jack wrapped her up in a one-armed hug, carefully avoiding his gunshot wound. "You okay?"

Owen and Gwen had gotten out of the SUV as well, leaving the shell-shocked Kieran inside. Owen tried to check her, but Toshiko shrugged him off. "I'm fine," she answered. "But I left Ianto up at that house. He was going to be right behind me, so he should be along – "

She was interrupted by an unearthly roar that echoed through the trees. Jack shivered; it was pain-filled and angry, and he recognized it instantly.

"Ianto!" Tosh cried. "I left him up there!"

"Let's go!" Jack got them all back into the SUV, climbing back into the drivers' sear and slamming the vehicle into gear with more force than was necessary. His heart was hammering in his chest, his imagination playing with the tone of that cry and fear bundled up in his throat like someone had stuffed a cloth into his windpipe. He could barely breathe, but he knew he had to get himself under control if he was going to be of any use to the dragon.

The large manor house appeared from behind the trees. Lights shown in the lower levels of the place, and several cars were pulled up outside the front door. It looked like quite a party, and Jack would have been expecting such if he didn't already know what was going on.

The Harvest.

_Every ten years_, the voice of the constable whispered in Jack's mind. They'd been doing the same thing every ten years. How they'd gotten away with it for so long, Jack didn't know. Surely there had to have been some sort of records? Why hadn't they managed to find anything in their research of the disappearances? Certainly something should have come up!

He was startled by a sudden flash from one of the lower windows…followed by a gout of flame that shattered the glass.

Jack halted the SUV, the tires spinning on the gravel. The vehicle fish-tailed slightly as it came to a halt, and Jack tumbled out, followed by his team, and together they stood and watched as fire licked through the broken window, charring the stones of the outside façade.

It had to have been Ianto's flame. That was the only explanation that Jack could come up with. He was very familiar with the dragon's abilities, and just the greater-than-average heat of the flames was enough to convince him that, somehow, Ianto had gotten inside and had been forced to let loose his inner flame.

Another roar sounded from over the rush of fire. It was all Jack could do to stand there and wait. He knew that Ianto was impervious to any other sort of fire, but his own? Then he shook himself; of course the dragon was! After all, how could he be alive with that flame within him? How would he survive breathing it out? No, he had to trust that Ianto was immune.

That still didn't mean that Jack was any less afraid.

A sudden outrush of people from the front door jerked the team into action. They instantly covered the fleeing cannibals, Toshiko fetching some of the extra flex cuffs from the supplies within the SUV. It was like figuratively shooting fish in a barrel: Jack, Owen, and Gwen covered the escapees, while Toshiko secured them with the cuffs. And, if anything she was rougher than Owen had been, kicking them to the ground and tightening the cuffs more than strictly necessary.

Gwen tried to complain at the treatment, but Toshiko shot her an angry look. "No, they were going to kill and eat me, and they must have somehow gotten ahold of my best friend. There's no way I'm going to be easy on them, Gwen. Worry about your team, and not for a bunch of sick cannibals."

"There has to be a reason why," Gwen argued. "What would turn them that way?"

"I don't care," Toshiko shot back. "All I care about is making sure it doesn't happen again."

Jack wanted to hug her for that.

They ended up capturing six villagers. Jack wondered how many more had died within the conflagration.

The outside stone of the house was keeping it from completely burning to the ground, but whatever wood there had been in the structure was being quickly consumed. Toshiko had managed to get through to the nearest law enforcement, but it would be at least an hour before anyone could get out there.

The team watched the house as flames rose to all the floors, blowing out windows with the intense heat.

"You're hurt!"

Jack glanced down at Toshiko; she had a little soot on her face, and it made her look even fiercer than he'd ever seen her. "Got shot by the kid we saved," he answered. "I'll be healed up by tomorrow."

Jack followed Toshiko's eyes as they sought out Kieran; the young man was standing just next to the parked SUV, his own gaze on the cannibals that were kneeling on the ground just away from the fire. "Are we sure he's not one of them?" she asked.

"As scared as he was?" Jack snorted. "No one is that good an actor."

Toshiko nodded, turning back to the fire. "Will Ianto be all right?" she whispered.

He put his arm around her shoulders. "You know Ianto," he said. "He's tough. He'll be fine."

The smaller woman leaned into Jack's warmth. "Yeah, you're right. It's just…the waiting, you know?"

Jack did know. He was growing more and more concerned that the dragon wasn't emerging from the quickly gutted house. He remembered that pain-filled roar, and wondered if he'd somehow been hurt more than just the injury to his wing. Another lump formed in his throat, and he realized that, if he lost the dragon, just how lonely his life would be.

He was finally figuring out just how important Ianto was to him. Jack was terrified by it, but he couldn't deny it any longer. He really wanted to work toward more than just reconciliation with the dragon, and that meant getting him to trust Jack once more. Well, Jack had time before the Doctor arrived. He'd do his best to work on getting Ianto into his life in a more…permanent way.

And maybe…just maybe, he wouldn't go with the Doctor after all.

Jack took a shuddering breath at that thought. He'd always known that Ianto could tempt him away from his answers, and that had just happened.

The Doctor would come back, but Jack would stay for Ianto.

And it only took a burning building full of cannibals to make him come to that conclusion.

There was a loud crack from within the house, and a huge section of outer wall gave away. He cringed at the sound; as did Toshiko, held tightly against his good side. The heat was drying Jack's skin out, and he knew if any of them got any closer it would quickly cause dehydration. As if on cue, Owen appeared, holding two water bottles; Jack cracked his open, taking a huge swallow before recapping it and putting it in his pocket.

A rumble sounded from one side of the house, and as Jack watched an entire section of stone moved as if on his own. He held his breath as he watched…"There he is!"

Emerging from the rubble, his emerald scales glittering redly in the light of the flames, was the dragon.

Jack let out a loud whoop, grabbing Toshiko and spinning her about, unmindful of his buckshot wound. Owen was grinning, and hugging Gwen…who, despite all of her animosity toward Ianto, seemed genuinely glad that the dragon was all right. Jack watched as the medic planted a very passionate kiss on the ex-PC's lips, and tried to stifle the disappointment in her as she returned it just as enthusiastically. Perhaps she'd soon get Owen out of her system, and go back to enjoying her life with her boyfriend.

The dragon shook himself as he pulled himself free from the building. His blue eyes caught sight of the team, and Jack saw the gladness in them. Then he looked at Jack, and his gaze softened into something that wasn't hard to identify.

Jack nodded, acknowledging what he'd seen with a look of his own.

Ianto smiled, revealing his rather impressive teeth.

The dragon made his way over to the team carefully. His injured wing was held tightly against his body, and Jack could see that the stitches hadn't survived the heat of the flames. "Good evening, Captain," his deep voice rumbled, sounding playful. "I do hope you all brought marshmallows; after all, I provided the bonfire."

Jack laughed. He released Toshiko, then threw his arms around the dragon's neck, the scales warmer than usual because of the fire, and laughed.


	29. The Harvest Chapter Eight

The Harvest - Chapter Eight

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I still don't own Torchwood, I would have treated it better.

Author's note: Here is the last chapter for The Harvest. I'm glad you all seemed to enjoy it! Next up, is Mind Games, the Dragon-Verse version of "Greeks Bearing Gifts". Thanks to everyone reading!

I'm also going to be honest: while I'm sure there are those out there who are enjoying Miracle Day, the storyline over the las several weeks (especially episode five) very nearly caused me to leave the fandom. I won't give out any spoilers, but suffice it to say I've decided that, if I did stop writing, then the powers that be would have won. And I won't let them do that. So don't worry about this ending over what I know consider another version of the "Turn Left" AU, because I intend to ignore its existence.

* * *

><p><em><strong>31 October 2007<strong>_

It was well after midnight before the Torchwood team was able to leave Brynblaidd.

The fire had nearly completely destroyed the house by the time the police and fire services arrived. Only stones remained of the once-large house, and they were collapsing into a sad pile of ruins.

Ianto was only too glad to see it gone. He wanted the horrors within to be completely destroyed.

He'd pulled himself from the flames, and the first thing he'd seen was his team celebrating. His heart had swelled at seeing them all alive and well; he'd been worried for them, even knowing that they could all take care of themselves. Well, there was Gwen, but the dragon had been certain that Jack would look after her as well.

Although, judging from Owen's enthusiastic 'snogging' of the woman – and her just as enthusiastic snogging back – Ianto thought he might have to revise that to Owen looking after her.

And then, he'd looked at Jack. The dragon couldn't help it; his feelings at seeing Jack there, hugging Toshiko, and he just knew his emotions were showing.

Jack nodded, and Ianto saw the same emotions in the immortal's eyes.

It was something he'd never thought he would see, and he swore they'd talk as soon as they had some alone time.

But that didn't happen, not yet anyway.

Owen had taken one look at his injured wing and cursed a blue streak. The dragon had laid there as he restitched it; at least there wasn't any more tearing, but it hurt like nothing else he'd ever felt. Owen had forbidden him from changing back to human for at least a week, which the dragon had pointed out was impossible to do: there was no way he was walking back to Cardiff, and he certainly couldn't fly back. Plus there were certain bodily things he'd need to do as a human. Owen hadn't liked it, but he'd agreed to it, until they'd dropped Ianto back off at his home.

Then there was Jack...and the obvious wound in his right side. The dragon had worried about it, but Jack had brushed it off as he'd rested his head in Jack's lap while Owen was working on his wing. The captain's presence, and the gentle stroking along his snout, almost lulled the dragon into sleep. Almost…until he got a glimpse of the blood on Jack's greatcoat.

Well, he'd let the threats slide…for now.

He'd changed back by the time rescue services had gotten there, although Ianto admitted that it felt a bit uncomfortable. Their captive cannibals had all been arrested – no one was about to believe a bunch of human-eating crazies that the house had been burned down by a dragon – and that only left the boy, Kieran.

The former captive gladly accepted Retcon. Ianto didn't blame him.

The trip back to Cardiff was done mostly in silence. Jack drove, and for once kept his speed to nearly the limit. Ianto dozed most of the way, letting the painkillers Owen had given him pull him under, and it was only when the SUV parked itself outside his house that Ianto came fully back to himself.

"Okay, Dragon Boy," Owen said from the backseat, as Ianto slowly climbed from the passenger side. "You're under doctor's orders to change back to dragon as soon as you can. You're also on medical leave, and I'll come back by tomorrow to evaluate you and let you know just how long you're off."

Ianto rolled his eyes. "Yes, Doctor," he snarked. "I'm not a child, Owen."

"Says you," Owen snarked back. "I'll also bring over more pain meds. You only change to human when you absolutely have to. Got it?"

He snapped off a sarcastic salute, then turned and walked toward his home. Truth be told, all Ianto wanted to do was curl up on his pillows and sleep, but he wasn't about to admit that to anyone.

The first thing on his list: to wash the scum and ash off his scales. To do that, he needed the garden hose and the relative privacy of his rear yard.

Ianto went back inside first, not wanting to surprise his house guest, Estelle, by arriving home so late. Surprisingly, she was gone; a note on the kitchen table said that she'd gone home, not wanting to intrude any longer. Ianto couldn't find it in himself to be disappointed; he really just wanted solitude, in order to relax and get a good nights' sleep. He'd have to call her though, and at least put up a token resistance to her leaving.

He stripped off his smelly clothing, binning them. He never wanted to see them again. Then, grabbing a towel, he headed out to the back garden in order to get his first bath before sleeping.

He changed back to dragon form once he was behind the overly tall fence that blocked his neighbors' scrutiny, not able to ignore the pain from the injured wing. It was a bit difficult to maneuver the hose with his claws, but he managed to completely soak himself down except for the stitches. He found himself wishing that Jack was there to help scrub his scales, but dismissed it. He'd want to make sure everyone else got home as well, and the dragon wasn't about to take Jack away from the team. They needed him as much as the dragon did.

After he was done, he changed back in order to get into the house, the towel wrapped around him to keep the water from dripping on his carpet. Ianto left the alarm turned off, knowing that Owen would be around and that he'd most likely use the key that was on file at the Hub to get in. Ianto also took the time to shower his human form as well; he'd once tried to explain to Toshiko how different each of his 'skins' felt, and that they both needed to be cleansed, but he wasn't certain if she'd understood. The pulse of the water beating down on his sore back seemed to relieve some of the pain.

A quick meal of tea and toast later, and the dragon was back and laying on his pillows and cushions in his bedroom, his head curled up under the crook of his damaged wing. He didn't even remember falling asleep.

The next thing he knew, the sun was shining through the skylight overlooking his bed, and there was an obvious human presence leaning against his flank. Judging from the warmth it was radiating, the dragon knew it was Jack; all other humans were cooler, whereas the immortal seemed to share a body heat that was closer to a dragon in human form.

The dragon shifted slightly, pulling his head out from under his wing so he could look at Jack. He received a look in return, and then a genuine smile that lit up Jack's eyes. "Welcome back," he greeted, stretching but keeping himself close to the dragon's side. "You've been asleep almost twelve hours."

He was surprised. "I must have been more tired than I thought. Have you been here all that time?"

Jack shook his head. "I came over with Owen the first time. Then we got an alert out in Penarth…a simple retrieval. I came back after that, though. I…didn't want you to wake up alone."

The dragon felt warmth deeper than his flame at Jack's words. He couldn't believe that, just a short while ago, they'd been arguing, and that he'd thought that he hadn't trusted Jack at all. Now, he was beginning to realize that he had, in fact, always trusted Jack, but that he'd simply convinced himself that he hadn't because of everything that had happened between them. His faith in Jack had been shaken, but not destroyed.

He loved Jack. And, he was thinking that Jack might possibly feel the same about him.

"Thank you," the dragon rumbled, letting his emotions once again show in his eyes.

Jack rubbed a hand against the dragon's shoulder, smoothing the scales in the way that he enjoyed. "You're welcome." The smile faded a little. "How's your wing?"

"How's your side?"

"I asked you first."

The dragon snorted a laugh. "Yes, you did." He experimentally flexed his damaged wing. Pain flared along the vane, making him hiss.

"That bad, huh?"

"I've never had an injured wing before. I didn't think it would hurt this badly."

"Well, Owen used the deep tissue scanner on it, and he said that it's going to take a while to heal. You're grounded for a month, and off duty for two weeks. No changing form unless absolutely necessary."

The dragon grimaced, but he knew better than to argue. "Will you all be able to handle me being away that long?"

"We'll work it out. Don't worry, okay?

"Easier said than done. Just please, don't let Owen near the Archives or the coffee machine."

Jack laughed. "He's already complaining about having to go to Starbucks for coffee."

"That's like drinking hot dishwater!" the dragon exclaimed fastidiously.

That caused the immortal to laugh even harder. "We're just spoiled, what can I say?"

"You'll say you'll go the extra distance and visit the Costa's instead?"

"I think that can be arranged."

"Thank you. Now…about my question. How is your side?"

"You can't even tell I was shot," Jack answered, untucking and raising both his shirt to show the dragon his unblemished skin.

He'd never even considered any human attractive until he'd met Jack Harkness. The dragon was constantly surprised by his feelings for the captain, and those feelings had only grown over the years he'd known the man. But really, seeing so much of Jack's skin on display was a bit distracting. He remembered touching him, those few times when he and Jack had slept together, and knew he'd never get enough.

Jack had taught him so much about how humans loved and touched. It was different from what dragon-kind did, and there were times when Ianto wished he could show Jack the ways of his people. He recalled the dream he had on and off, throughout his life, of him in the mating flight with the blue-gray dragon he'd once thought was his mate; since there were no more dragons left, that dream had died. That didn't stop him from thinking about a mating flight with Jack somehow, but that was impossible.

He was disappointed when Jack tucked his shirts back in.

"I was worried."

The dragon was shaken from his thoughts about Jack's skin. "About me?"

"Well, duh," Jack answered, slapping him lightly on the shoulder. "You were in a burning building, you know."

"I was never in any danger," the dragon answered. Then he reconsidered. "No, that wasn't true. I may have been in danger, when they captured me."

"What happened? I know what Toshiko says, but she doesn't know much past your overpowering the cannibal woman."

And so, the dragon explained. He told Jack of being struck down outside the house, and being dragged back inside. He left out the part about not being able to transform; he was certain that had to do with his injury and nothing else, although it had never happened before. "I had to wait for the building's structure to weaken before I could push my way through," he finished. "But I did, as soon as I possibly could. Being in that place wasn't pleasant." He also didn't go into the screaming, or the smell of burning flesh, or the agony in his wing as the fire had destroyed the stitches.

He didn't think he needed to.

"Let's make a deal," Jack said. "I'll try not to bloody up the coat, and you try not to go the self-immolation route again, okay?"

"It's a deal."

The immortal curled back up into the dragon's side, and it was all he could do not to drape his wing over the reclining man., knowing to move it would hurt. Instead, he moved just enough that his body was curved around Jack's, his head resting on his extended front legs.

They were silent like that for a long time. The sunlight coming in through the window made the dragon drowsy, and his eyelids drooped to half-mast as sleep overcame him once more.

He felt Jack move, and fingers traced themselves along his snout. He snuffled in enjoyment. "I spoke truly," he murmured, "when I said dragons don't kiss." He cracked one eye open to look at Jack, and couldn't miss the contentment there. "You're actually the first human I'd ever kissed."

A soft smile lit Jack's face. "I do hope you enjoyed it."

"Yes, I did. Remind me to demonstrate how dragons share affection sometime."

"Oh, believe me, I will."

The dragon sighed, letting his eyes shut. He hadn't felt this happy in a long time.

A very tiny voice in the back of his head told him that it couldn't possibly last.

He chose to ignore it.


	30. Mind Games Chapter One

Mind Games - Chapter One

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, I would have treated it better

Author's note: Here we go...the first chapter of Mind Games, the Dragon-Verse version of "Greeks Bearing Gifts". Hope you enjoy it! Thanks everyone, for reading and reviewing. On with this story...

* * *

><p><em><strong>15 November 2007<strong>_

Toshiko missed Ianto.

It had been fifteen days since the cannibals, and the dragon was still on medical leave. The enforced vacation had Ianto climbing the walls of his house, but at least it meant he didn't have to be around Gwen and Owen. She was sure he would have been as sickened by their behavior as she was.

It was obvious the pair was shagging. Toshiko didn't find it as surprising as she might have, if it had been anyone but Owen Harper. As it was, when Owen was getting it regularly he was more unsubtle than Jack….which wasn't quite fair to Jack in a lot of ways, since his tales were more tall than real. Gwen seemed to get into random giggle fits like a schoolgirl, and it set Toshiko's teeth on edge.

If Ianto had been there, the dragon would have been some sort of buffer between herself and the hormonal teenagers her teammates seemed to have regressed to. He wouldn't have liked it, and they could have been a united front against it. As it was, Ianto wouldn't be back until Monday, so it left Toshiko on her own.

But again, she was being a bit unfair to Jack. It was obvious that he was distracted; not only distracted, but also very happy. Toshiko knew why, since a certain dragon of her acquaintance was also the same way. She was glad for them, but it left her as odd woman out, although she knew very well that the thing between Owen and Gwen wouldn't last. Owen would get bored, and move on.

What really bothered her about the whole thing – even more than, once again, Owen showing his complete blindness to Toshiko's own feelings – was that Gwen, who had a man who loved her, was cheating on that man. Toshiko had never met Rhys Williams, and only knew what she'd pulled up in the background check, but her sense of fairness was currently being outraged on his behalf. Gwen had always gone on about how fantastic Rhys was, and how good her life was, while making the rest of her team sound like they were sad and lonely.

Well, to be honest, Toshiko had been known to get lonely on occasion. After all…who didn't? But while she wasn't involved with anyone romantically, she had Ianto, her friend. One of the things she felt worst about was not realizing that something had been wrong with him besides his falling out with Jack. But she also had known almost from the beginning that he loved Jack, and that Jack didn't return those feelings. She remembered standing up for her friend with Jack, but that had been too late.

She was so very happy to have him back, and to have Ianto and Jack happy and quite possibly together, judging from how much time their captain spent at the dragon's house during his convalescence.

Speaking of Jack…their captain came bounding out of his office, coat flying. "Let's go, kids," he called. "Our local constabulary need us."

Toshiko smiled. At last…something to get her away from the Hub, and out of such close proximity to her two hormonally regressed teammates.

* * *

><p>They ended up at a construction site.<p>

Toshiko climbed out of the SUV, lugging her equipment case with her. She followed Jack as he led them toward a tent that had been set up among the various excavation vehicles. There were several coppers, one of whom was Gwen's former partner, Andy, and they were busily trying to keep the crowds that had gathered out. A part of her wanted to go up to him, to ask him questions about Gwen and her behavior when they worked together, but found herself not that interested after the thought crossed her mind.

She sighed. Best get on with it them.

Toshiko followed Jack into the tent. A hole had been dug in the soil, the dirt soggy and uncertain under her feet. She peered into the hole…and saw the body.

It was actually a skeleton. Nothing else remained. Toshiko immediately saw what had to have been the cause of death: a large, gaping wound in the chest. She inwardly cringed, realizing whatever had happened must have been horribly painful.

But it was the corroded piece of tech that really caught her attention. It had obviously been buried with the corpse, and it was obviously not from Earth.

Jack knelt by the hole. "Just once," he said playfully, "I'd like to walk into one of these tents and find it's a party. You know, food…drink…people dancing…the girl crying in the corner…"

_That would be me_, Toshiko thought, then banished the notion from her mind. She might have been in the corner, but she certainly wouldn't have been crying. Most likely she would have been writing lines of code on the nearest computer.

Gwen leaned over Jack's shoulder, and Toshiko couldn't help but notice that she was standing closer than what could have been construed as just friendly. She already had Owen, although Toshiko had seen her flirting fit to burst with Jack ever since he'd hired her. "Is it alien?" she asked.

Toshiko barely managed to roll her eyes at the question. Instead, she concentrated on her own equipment.

Jack inched away, playing with his wrist strap. It suddenly beeped. "And how," he said. "I'm picking up traces of ilmenite, pyroxene, and even dark matter."

Now Jack was just showing off. Toshiko's hands practically itched to get ahold of that strap. Even one scan of it would answer so many questions…

"Any idea what it is?" Gwen asked.

"Not a clue," he answered. "Could be a weapon, or a really big stapler. " He turned to Owen, who was actually in the shallow grave. "How's our friend there?"

"She's dead," Owen snarked.

"Yeah, thanks Quincy," Jack snarked back. "She?"

The medic nodded. "Judging from the size of her skull."

"How long have they been here, Tosh?"

She looked at the scanner she'd been using on the area. "From of the depth they found them…196 years, 11 to 11 ½ months. The earth's been disturbed so I'm afraid I can't be more accurate."

"That was pretty damned accurate though," Jack replied, impressed.

Tosh smiled at the praise.

"What killed her?" Gwen asked. "The stapler?"

"Nah," Owen answered that one. "See the shattered ribs? I reckon she was shot."

"Let's get her and the stapler back to the Hub," Jack stood up, dusting down his trousers. He left the tent in a swirl of greatcoat.

Toshiko packed up her scanner, as Owen climbed out of the hole. Gwen offered him a hand. He took it, and the ex-PC pulled him up. "You're so light!" she exclaimed, laughing. "You're like a girl!"

"I'm not light," he growled. "I'm wiry. The girls go for it." He raked his eyes up and down in an overly lascivious way that had Toshiko wanting to throw up. "But I guess I don't need to tell you that."

The eye rolling could not be contained. And Toshiko knew that Gwen saw her do it.

* * *

><p>Toshiko had only been gone five minutes.<p>

But that was all it had taken for Gwen and Owen to cause complete mayhem.

"I'm really sorry," Owen said, not sounding sorry at all, "but I think your computer is dead."

Anger made her face heat up. "What did you do?" She stood in front of her terminals. The main screen was dark, and it was obviously not getting any power to it at all. All of that work…Jack was going to be as furious as she was. It had taken _weeks_ to gather all the data she'd needed!

"Okay," Owen answered, trying to hide what looked like a football behind his back, "so she said I was no good at sport! So I said, 'Throw something to me and' – "

Toshiko made a negating motion with her hand. "I asked you what you did to the computer!"

"I kicked out a plug. I think."

"What?" The technician had the sudden urge to collapse into her chair. This was a disaster. "It was running a new translation program I'd written! I'd collated every scrap of alien language we've got, and broken it down into binary threads to see if there was a common derivation!" All that work…she and Ianto had been working on that very program even before his bereavement leave.

"That's a bit of a mouthful," Owen smirked.

Gwen laughed, and Toshiko didn't bother to hide her glare. "Sorry," she mumbled. "It was a private joke."

Toshiko stabbed them both with her hottest glare. "We're supposed to be professionals! I'm sure you both have work to do!"

"She's right," Gwen hastened to agree. "You're right…sorry, Tosh."

"Do you know what, Tosh?" Owen snapped. "Sometimes that stick up your arse has a stick up its arse."

That was the last straw.

Toshiko stepped up, right into Owen's personal space. She might have been much smaller than him, but she had a serious indignation going, and she wasn't about to back down. "I'd rather have a stick up my arse," she snarled, "than have your dick up my pussy." That might not have been strictly true, but she was too mad to care. She turned and pointedly glared at Gwen, then back to Owen. "That program you just ruined was one Ianto and I had been working on for months. It would have helped us translate a lot of the languages we run into, and perhaps save your miserable lives when something says 'bomb' instead of 'toy'. You have managed to wreck something that would have made our jobs much better, and maybe much less dangerous. When Jack finds out…I wouldn't want to be either of you. And that's not even adding in what Ianto is going to do."

"What's Ianto going to do?" Jack's voice echoed over the Hub, from the gantry above.

Toshiko looked up at him. "I'll let Owen and Gwen explain about the mess they've just made." She made a grab for her jacket and bag. "I have to get out of here."

She didn't look at her co-workers as she stormed out of the Hub. She desperately needed a drink.

* * *

><p>It took two glasses of really good wine before Toshiko was calmed down.<p>

Twisting the stem of her third glass in her fingers, she thought about her little tantrum back at the Hub. She was a just a bit ashamed of herself. It wasn't that Owen hadn't had it coming; it was just she didn't like to lose her temper like that. It wasn't dignified. And she'd accused Owen and Gwen of not being professional!

She sighed. Chances were, she'd be able to retrieve a lot of the information that had been lost when Owen had unplugged the computer. It was just the principle of it; she'd been working, doing the job she was actually paid for, while Owen – who should have been working with that body they'd recovered just that morning! – and Gwen – God only knew what she was supposed to be doing – had been goofing around with that damned football. One wrong step and it had set her own work back weeks!

Hopefully Jack would sort them both out before she went back. Toshiko honestly didn't think she could handle the pair of them anymore.

And it wasn't even because of her own feelings toward Owen. She'd long ago realized that he'd never return them, and besides she had Tommy to look forward to. No, this was more because he was flaunting the fact that he'd bedded the new girl, despite her having a boyfriend at home. Didn't Gwen have any self respect? Couldn't she see just how Owen was strutting around like some sort of oversexed peacock, with his plumage out for everyone to see?

Gwen was just another notch on his bedpost, and the woman just didn't get it.

Toshiko really wanted to talk to either Jack or Ianto about the situation. She knew Jack saw it as well, judging from the disapproving looks she'd seen him shoot the pair when their antics got too much to bear. She knew for a fact that he'd already admonished them about keeping it out of the workplace. But, at the same time, Jack was walking a fine line: calling Gwen and Owen down for their behavior meant that his and Ianto's whatever it was also would not be tolerated in the Hub. Toshiko had no doubt that the captain and the dragon were indeed getting closer, just from how much time Jack was spending in Ianto's company. The dragon was practically homebound after injuring his wing in the Brecon Beacons, and it was really beginning to get to him. Having Jack – and Toshiko – visit him had kept him from going insane.

Movement out of the corner of her eye drew her attention, but she didn't turn. Toshiko took a sip of her wine, deciding that she'd just leave it alone for the night. It wouldn't do to dwell on it, and she simply didn't want to have to deal with the mess Owen and Gwen had left until tomorrow. She didn't normally avoid things like that, but the very idea of going back to the Hub just didn't appeal.

Something prickled at the back of her mind, and Toshiko shivered slightly. She tilted her glass up, draining it, then began to gather her things.

"This guy over there," a voice caught her attention, "has been staring at me all evening."

Toshiko turned in the direction of the voice, and found herself staring into a pair of very intense eyes.

"I told him he's wasting his time," the woman behind the eyes went on, "but he won't listen, so I've come over to talk to you because you know how this ends: he gets a punch in the neck and I get barred. I've already been barred from about twenty pubs, and I don't want that to happen here because they do these nice olives on the tables."

The technician stared at her. She was attractive; blond, a little taller than Toshiko herself, but it was her eyes that caught her attention: they were dark, and there was something in them that made her think of Jack's eyes when he was thinking too hard about something. There was another odd tickle in her head, and she found herself putting her bag back down on the bar. "Right," she found herself saying. "Okay, then."

The woman smiled, and while it was friendly there was something off about it. "Cool. Let me buy you a drink." She put her bag down on the counter, digging around inside it and bringing out her wallet.

"Really, there's no need," Toshiko protested.

She waved the bartender over. "I'll have a JD and Coke, and…Toshiko, what do you want?"

Suspicion slammed through her, and she climbed off the bar stool. "I didn't tell you my name." Her hand crept to where she normally kept her gun…only to find it not there. She'd taken it off in the Hub, and hadn't retrieved it after her rather precipitous exit.

"Oh yeah," the woman grinned. "That was the other thing…I kinda know who you are."


	31. Mind Games Chapter Two

Mind Games - Chapter Two

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, I would have treated it better.

Author's note: Welcome to the next chapter of Mind Games, the Dragon-Verse version of "Greek Bearing Gifts". Hope you enjoy!

* * *

><p><em><strong>15 November 2007<strong>_

"Toshiko Sato," the woman said. "Born London, 1975. Moved to Osaka when you were two, then back to the UK in 1986. Parents in the RAF, grandfather worked at Bletchley Park. Very impressive."

Toshiko stared at her, her mind whirling. Certainly, some of this could have been found on the internet; she was certain in her time she'd left quite a bit of a paper trail. She hadn't particularly worried about it, but with this recitation Toshiko was seriously considering asking Jack if she could write a virus that would destroy a Torchwood operative's personal information anywhere it was found online.

"University…blah blah blah," the woman went on. "Snapped up to a government think tank when you were twenty. Recruited into Torchwood four years ago."

_She didn't know about my time in a UNIT holding facility_, Toshiko thought. _How interesting._ That meant Jack had been as good as his word, and deleted anything to do with her spending time as a 'guest' of the Unified Intelligence Taskforce.

Toshiko wanted to leave. But there was something about this woman, something that made her want to stay. She couldn't figure it out. It was like she was rooted to the spot, listening as this stranger went on about her, and what she'd been able to find out.

The woman lit a cigarette; Toshiko didn't like being around smokers, but still couldn't find the inclination to leave. "I saw you at the building site this morning," she said. "What was that you had in the case?"

The technician shook her head. There was no way she was going to talk about anything that this person had an interest in. "How do you know about Torchwood?" she asked instead.

She shrugged. "There's stuff on the internet, but you have to dig really deep. Plus, we pick up bits and pieces from police radio scanners." She reached for the drink the bartender had set in front of her.

"We?" Toshiko demanded. She was very much aware that Torchwood was one of the worst-kept secrets in Cardiff, but she knew damned well that she and Ianto kept very close tabs on any and all websites that might have reason to mention Torchwood.

"Scavengers," she answered. "Collectors. Just like you."

And again, something that didn't quite add up in her recital. While Torchwood could be considered scavengers, they were funded by the Privy Purse and weren't anything like this woman was implying. "How many are there of you?" If she could get numbers and information, they could check out just what these so-called collectors were. There was a lot of alien tech out there that was just too dangerous for civilians to have, and it was their job to make certain no one was hurt.

"Oh," she said, waving her hand, "don't think it's in any way organized. It's really just a disparate bunch of IT guys who live with their mothers."

Toshiko somehow doubted that, just from the brush-off she'd gotten. She needed to get whatever information this woman had, in order to see just what sort of trouble whoever it was, was up to.

At the same time, she knew she really should go. She should call Jack, so they could pick the stranger up and get whatever she knew out of her, then Retcon her. But at this point all she had was someone who knew how to use the internet and who'd tried to intimidate her with her knowledge. For all Toshiko knew, this could be a stalker, or worse yet one of the few groupies they seemed to get. It had happened before; Eugene Jones was a prime example, and Ianto was always trying to deflect him.

She made her decision.

"Let's get a booth," Toshiko said, grabbing her drink and her bag. "And you can tell me more."

* * *

><p>It should have tipped Toshiko off that she was being a bit more loose-lipped than usual, but something was telling her that it was okay.<p>

She couldn't figure it out. The woman – she called herself Mary, not bothering to share her last name – just sat there and listened, while Toshiko rambled on about things she really shouldn't. It was almost a compulsion to talk, to tell Mary things that she'd normally keep quiet. Toshiko managed to keep it light and frivolous, but a part of her was saying that it felt good to confide in someone who wasn't Torchwood.

Another part was a bit freaked out by her apparent trust in a complete stranger.

"I shouldn't even be telling you this stuff," she interrupted herself, taking a sip from her wine. She wasn't even drunk, and she'd keep an eye on her drink so there was no chance that she'd been doped. "I could get fired."

That wasn't true, she wouldn't be fired. Retconned, yes…fired, no. Firing her meant that she'd end up back with UNIT, and Toshiko knew that Ianto wouldn't let that happen. The dragon had been horrified by her treatment back then, and had made her a promise that she'd never be handed back to UNIT no matter what.

Mary kept looking at her, her dark eyes intense in that pretty face. Somewhere in the back of her mind she was realizing that Mary had gotten to her; that despite her going into this with her eyes open and best of intentions, she'd somehow fallen under Mary's spell. Maybe it was just as simple as having someone to talk to; or perhaps it was something more.

Toshiko wanted to stop. She wanted to get up out of that booth, and go and call Jack and tell him that there was possible danger to Torchwood and that they needed to take Mary in for questioning.

And yet, she still sat there.

"I want to show you something," Mary said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a battered old tin. She set it on the table, giving Toshiko a conspiratorial grin.

Inside was a pendant.

It was obviously alien. Toshiko didn't need any of her scanners to know that.

"Put it on," Mary urged.

She didn't want to. But her hands were moving of their own accord, grasping the cord and slipping it around her neck, hooking the clasp.

It lay cold against her skin.

And suddenly, she wasn't alone in her head.

"_I'll drink one more then drive home slowly."_

"_Does coffee count as food if you take sugar?"_

"_If he tugs at his groin one more time, I'll smack him in the face…"_

The voices were overwhelming, slamming into Toshiko's mind and she couldn't stop them.

"_I should have said it was Hammer Time when she asked what time it was. That would have made them laugh."_

"_Bloody Sudoku…"_

"_Did I send that email? Did I click 'reply to all'?"_

"They're people's thoughts," Mary's voice intruded into the cacophony pounding through Toshiko's skull.

"_He doesn't touch me anymore."_

"They're people's thoughts, Toshiko."

She knew that. She could tell they were all in her head, echoing through her consciousness as they were speaking across a great chasm.

"_I should have shagged that single dad I met."_

"_What's that Asian girl doing? Is she having some sort of fit?"_

Toshiko realized that it was her that whoever it was, was thinking of. She tried to get herself back under control, not wanting to draw attention to herself.

"_She's cute though. Is that her girlfriend? Marcus reckons he's done it with two lesbians, lucky sod. How would that work?"_

Toshiko's eyes track over, and manage to pinpoint the man who was thinking those particular thoughts. Not bad looking, but he was watching her and Mary with an interest that the technician found unnerving. "That man over there…I can hear him."

"_I mean, does one of them sort of sit on – "_

"Toshiko," Mary's voice cut through the din, "I need you to focus."

"I can hear all of them!" She didn't know whether to be excited, or horrified.

"Hone in on my voice," Mary ordered. "Shut everything else out."

Toshiko turned away from the man, her eyes meeting Mary's. There was something swirling deep with them, a soft blue color that was gone as quickly as it had appeared. She closed her eyes, attempting to do what Mary directed, and it took a lot out of her to do just that.

Eventually, she opened her eyes to see Mary still staring at her. "Very good," she congratulated.

"There's just so much…" It felt as if she was swimming against the tide.

"_Just home in on my thoughts," _Mary's voice was now in her head. _"Only my thoughts. Ignore everyone else. Follow my voice…"_

Toshiko mentally berated herself. She knew her mind; knew she could block out pretty much anything around her while she was concentrating on one of her projects. She reached for that, locking all of her attention on Mary and her mental voice.

"_Follow my voice,"_ Mary encouraged. _"What am I thinking?"_

"You're thinking…"

" – _that I want to kiss you…"_

Toshiko gasped, practically yanking the pendant from around her neck. No, she didn't want to hear anymore. She slammed it onto the table, not concerned if she broke the colored crystal on it or not.

"I'm sorry," Mary apologized. "That was…"

"No, look – " She tried hard to gather her scattered thoughts; they'd been blown apart under the assault of all the minds in the pub.

"Sometimes you can't control – "

"It's fine." Toshiko was lying; it was anything but fine. All of those people, thinking so much…and then Mary's thought…no, it was hardly fine at all. Perhaps she'd been stalked after all. "Where did you get it?"

"It's been in my family for a long time."

Toshiko didn't believe her, not after that scavenger story she'd given when she'd first approached her. This was…it was most certainly alien, and it was dangerous. "I've never seen anything like it. It's…incredible."

"It's more than incredible!" Mary exclaimed. "With this, you can read people's minds. It levels the pitch between man and God."

Now, that sounded almost hysterical. Toshiko didn't believe in God…she believed in herself, and her abilities, and her teammates.

She didn't like how Mary was looking at her. There was that odd tickling in her head again, and she'd been feeling it all evening. "Is it alien?" she asked, wanting to test Mary's response.

The woman shrugged. "I guess."

And there was yet another crack in her story.

"I want you to have it."

Toshiko suddenly did want it. She didn't know why, only that she really needed to have that pendant. "No, I can't…" she tried to deny it, but the effort was weak; she was already picking up the pendant by its dark cord.

Mary looked amused. "Please. I've kept it too long. After a while, it gets…you hear too much. It changes how you see people."

That made sense. Knowing someone's innermost thoughts would change how you looked at them. "I'll have to show it to the others."

Mary made a scoffing noise, taking a sip of her drink.

"What?" Toshiko demanded.

"Nothing," the woman shrugged. "Just, I bet you don't."

"And you know this from finding my CV on the internet?" Toshiko felt angry, and her hand tightened on the pendant's cord.

"No, because I know the pendant." She certainly seemed very sure of herself.

That surety cemented Toshiko's resolve to do just that. "Well, you're wrong. I will."

"Yeah," Mary said. "But you won't."

* * *

><p><em><strong>16 November 2007<strong>_

The pendant had weighed on her mind all night.

Toshiko knew she had to turn it in to Jack. It was dangerous, and it needed to be put into Secure Archives so no one would be tempted to use it. She also needed to investigate Mary more closely; she certainly didn't believe her when she'd said that these so-called scavengers weren't organized. It had been in her denial, and her explanation of the pendant, that told her differently.

And so, she got up the next morning, fully intending on turning over the offending pendant to Jack first thing that morning. Her heart lighter, she made herself some breakfast of tea and toast, then got dressed and headed into the Hub.

But, somewhere between the Tourist Office and the cog door, the pendant ended up around her neck once more.

"_What the hell would produce such a perfect circular puncture? Maybe some kind of wooden stake…"_

Toshiko stopped as Owen's thoughts hit her. This wasn't as bad as last night, when she'd been in a pubful of people. No, she could handle one or two.

That nagging voice in her subconscious was wondering just why she was wearing the pendant around her co-workers anyway.

"Hey, Tosh," Owen's physical voice jerked her mind back into the present.

"_She'd better not go on about that computer again, we got bollocked enough by Jack last night."_

A small smile tugged at her lips. She'd need to thank Jack later for going after Owen and Gwen after she'd left.

Toshiko headed over to her station. She immediately noticed that her screens were all back up, and she knew that Jack had been responsible for that, too.

"Morning, Tosh," Gwen's voice greeted, sounding almost too cheerful.

"_So sick and tired of the coppers asking where Ianto bloody Jones is, don't they get it that his job is mine now?"_

That made her angry. Ianto had been police liaison a lot longer than any of them had been in Torchwood, and he'd done a fantastic job at it. Gwen didn't have the right to think about her friend in that tone!

That small voice was back, urging her to remove the pendant, that her overhearing her teammates' thoughts was wrong. That she didn't have the right to pry into their minds, that it was intrusive and she wouldn't want that to happen to her.

"_Oh sweetheart, the jeans in the boots thing has really kind of had its day."_

"_Why is Tosh staring at Gwen like that? She can be dead weird. Wonder what she'd be like in bed? Catholic but graceful, I bet."_

"_I can smell Owen on me from that shag in his car this morning. Does this mean we have an arrangement? Or is it more than that? And why is Tosh staring at me like that?"_

Toshiko turned away, back to her terminal. Why had she put the pendant back on? She should have left it off, and shown it to Jack immediately. But Jack's office was dark, and she guessed that he was at Ianto's.

"_She did that thing where she ran her tongue across my teeth…I should've worn different trousers. I'm gonna have to sit down til this subsides a bit…"_

Owen promptly left the main area, heading down to his desk in the autopsy bay.

"_I wonder if I could get Owen to come down to the Vaults. No…couldn't have sex in front of a Weevil. I couldn't even do it in front of Trevor Kendal's cat."_

Toshiko ripped the pendant from her throat. She couldn't handle it any more.

She'd give this thing to Jack the moment she saw him.


	32. Mind Games Chapter Three

Mind Games - Chapter Three

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, I would have treated it better

Author's note: Welcome to the next chapter of Mind Games, the Dragon-verse version of "Greeks Bearing Gifts". Hope you like it! Thanks to everyone out there reading and reviewing and everything else. I do appreciate you all.

* * *

><p><em><strong>16 November 2007<strong>_

After a couple of hours of putting up with her teammates and there being no sign of Jack, Toshiko snuck out of the Hub, deciding that she needed to go to the one other place she knew she could find someone to speak to.

The pendant had been preying on her mind in that time. She hadn't put it back on; although she couldn't decide if it was out of irritation for her oblivious teammates, or something deeper, she couldn't say. The idea of knowing another person's thoughts…it seemed wrong to her, and yet there was a part of her that really wanted to put it back on, and use it to dig around Gwen and Owen's minds and root out their deepest secrets.

It made her slightly ill.

It was also out of character for her.

At heart, Toshiko was a private person. She also tried to respect the privacy of those around her, but the pendant threatened to make her destroy her own personal barriers. That was something she didn't want to do.

She did wonder why Mary had chosen her. There was no doubt that Mary _had_ chosen her, but she didn't know why. That disturbed her; she didn't want to think that she was the kind of person someone would pick to turn against others. She could see that happening, far too easily, knowing what other people thought about her. It was a curse, and Toshiko didn't want to have anything to do with it.

Mary wouldn't find her so easy a target.

She pulled her car up into the drive of the large Victorian structure that was Ianto's home. Toshiko sat there, just staring at the house, her thoughts in disarray, not one settling long enough for her to tell what it was she was actually thinking about. A sense of dread overcame her, and for a heartbeat Toshiko considered starting her car and driving away.

_No, that would not do._

Gathering herself together, Toshiko got out, and walked up to the front door. She had her own key; Ianto had given it to her a couple of weeks ago, when the dragon had become involuntarily housebound. She used it now, letting herself in.

Toshiko loved Ianto's place. The front room looked so very _normal_, with everything that humans had in their own homes. It was decorated tastefully, with twin leather sofas and a dark wood entertainment center holding electronics of all sorts. A couple of landscapes hung on the walls; Toshiko knew that one of them was a genuine Monet, while the other was one he'd found at an art show several years ago. The entire place was peaceful, and the technician loved to be there.

"Ianto?" she called out, not wanting to startle the dragon.

"Tosh!" came an answering call from upstairs. "Come on up!"

She did as she was invited, taking the stairs up to the loft where Ianto slept. As she moved upward, she began to hear singing.

It was a soft sound, with a joyful undertone. The words were in a language that Toshiko didn't know, but she could feel the ancientness in it, bringing to mind open spaces, and mountains, and wind and sky and freedom.

It made her smile, and seemed to lift a burden from her that she hadn't known she was carrying. Her steps lightened as she entered the large open space of Ianto's loft, and she couldn't help smiling.

The dragon was on his bed of pillows, legs curled up beneath him and his wings tucked into his sides. The pale sunlight streaming in from the skylight made the dragon's scales glitter like real emeralds. His head was up, and he was looking at her with pleased surprise in his blue, cat-slitted eyes. "I didn't expect anyone until later," he greeted her warmly. "But I'm glad you're here. Three more days, and I have a feeling it's going to go very slowly indeed."

Toshiko opened her mouth to tease him for his impatience, but nothing came out.

She could still hear the singing, and it wasn't coming from Ianto.

Only, she realized, it wasn't coming from him _vocally_. She was hearing his thoughts.

Toshiko wondered just when she'd put the pendant back on, because she certainly couldn't remember doing it.

The song turned from joyful to concerned. "Are you all right?" the dragon asked, his voice echoing the emotion in that song.

"I'm…fine," she answered. She wanted nothing more than to sit and listen to Ianto's inner song, even if she couldn't understand the words. She'd known that singing was important to him; he'd once told her that dragons had songs for every occasion, and had even sung her a few. She's also heard the song he'd sung at Lisa's death, and the sadness in it had torn at her heart.

But this…this was _him_. This inner song was the dragon, was Ianto Jones at his core. It was amazing.

It made Toshiko ashamed for listening in.

The dragon was looking at her, and she tried to smile to reassure him. It wasn't working, judging from the expression on his scaly face and the tone of the song.

Toshiko had come there to tell him about Mary, and about the pendant. That had been her intention, and now she found she didn't want to. It was like Mary had said; she wouldn't tell anyone about it, keep it to herself…

No, she couldn't. This wasn't her. This wasn't Toshiko Sato. She wasn't some sick voyeur who pried into her friends' minds and learned their secrets. She didn't want to know that Gwen and Owen were that shallow, or that Ianto thought in song.

She wanted nothing more than to go back to her former ignorance.

The dragon shifted forward a bit, his worry more obvious than before. His ancient eyes regarded her, as if looking into her soul. "Toshiko…I know there's something wrong. I can…sense…a difference within you. Would you please tell me what's happened?"

Her hand went up to the pendant. "You're right," she admitted, forcing the words out past the sudden compulsion to remain silent. "Something…has happened."

His eyes narrowed as he caught sight of the pendant at her throat. "Where did you get that, Tosh?"

"From…her name is Mary. She gave it to me."

The large head shook in denial. "No, it's more than that. You're not the kind of person to put random alien tech around their neck just because someone gave it to you. " He seemed to come to a decision. "Please, sit beside me. I'm going to call Jack."

Relief roared through her. Toshiko did as he asked, resting herself against his warm bulk. She'd known that Ianto would understand. Something was preventing her from telling the entire story, and she was pitifully grateful that she'd been able to come to him.

Ianto was using the voice remote to activate his phone; Toshiko had set it up, when Owen had banned the dragon from transforming back into a human unless absolutely necessary. She'd also voice-activated his laptop and the smaller television that Jack had brought in, even though the dragon had a tendency to complain that there was nothing on except for soaps and game shows.

The phone rang twice, and then Jack answered. _"What's up, gorgeous?"_

Toshiko felt the scales under her back grow warmer, and she knew that this was most likely the dragon form of blushing. "Are you almost done with your business?"

"_Actually, yeah. I was on my way back to the Hub. Do you need anything?"_

She wondered vaguely what sort of business had kept Jack from the Hub that morning.

"You need to stop by. Toshiko is here, and there's something wrong."

"_I'm on my way,"_ Jack's voice sounded serious. _"Is she all right?"_

"She seems to be, physically…but I believe something is controlling her. I'm hoping you can help me figure out what it is."

"_I'll be there in twenty minutes."_ With that, Jack hung up.

While he'd been talking to Jack, the song in Toshiko's head had changed, growing lighter yet warmer, almost as if a sun had begun to beam down into her brain. She smiled softly; this was a confirmation of something she'd always suspected.

"You love Jack, don't you?"

The dragon stilled, then a soft exhalation made his side jerk slightly. "You've been thinking that for a long time now, Toshiko."

Sadness tinged the song, and the strange words seemed to change; a brief flash of gray-blue fluttered through her mind. The song changed once more, this time it was deeper and older and darker, yet she found herself wishing she could sing along. It was important, this song; she just didn't know why.

It was overwhelming, that song. Toshiko was barely aware of the tears on her cheeks as it whispered through her, the power of it so intense it took her breath away. She heard Ianto calling to her, and she managed to look up into worried blue eyes. "I hear it," she managed to say.

Ianto looked confused. "Hear what?"

"The song. It's ancient, but it's a part of you. It's beautiful…"

If the dragon had had eyebrows, they would have shot up his scaled forehead. "You…can hear the song? You mean, this one?"

And he began to sing.

Toshiko let the notes of the song roll over her, and she leaned against the dragon's flank, lost in it. She heard it twice: once in her ears, the second in her mind. She knew she could lose herself in it so easily, letting it carry her in time and space, back to when dragons roamed the Earth freely. She could smell the Earth; its deep, loamy coolness a comfort to her frayed nerves.

She caught a glimpse of another dragon: this one blue-gray, mighty wings against a blue sky. Then it was gone, and the song was fading away, changing back into the softer song that seemed to run through the background of her mind.

"That is the song of the Earth Dragon," Ianto said quietly. "I heard it when I was very young, and have never forgotten it."

"And the dragon?" she asked, just as quietly.

Sadness flooded her. "He was…supposed to be my mate. But the dragons are gone, and I'll never find him. How did you see him, Toshiko? How did you hear that song?"

"I think I can answer that."

Toshiko had been so lost in the song that she hadn't even heard Jack come in. She looked up; the captain was standing just on the landing, pain and sadness evident in his own features, and she knew the expression had to match her own.

"Jack," the dragon greeted somberly. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come in."

"That's okay," Jack answered, coming into the room. He stepped up to the dragon, running a hand lightly along his snout. "I heard…I wish there was something I could do to make the pain better."

"You do, Jack," he answered. "Believe me; you do. But, you think you know what's going on with Toshiko?"

"I do, yes." Jack knelt beside her, staring into her eyes.

That was when she realized…"I can't hear you!"

The immortal shook his head. "I've always had some fairly strong mental shields, but I think my immortality has made it pretty impossible to read me anymore." His eyes trailed down to the pendant. "Oh yeah, that's an Arcateenian crystal. The Arcans are telepathic, and they use the crystals to communicate with other life forms. The question is…just where did you get it, Tosh? You're not usually so clumsy with tech that you'd actually put something that could be dangerous around your own neck."

Toshiko was relieved. She knew Jack and Ianto could help her. "It was…given to me," she answered slowly, feeling as if the words were being dragged out of her. "I didn't want to take it…"

"You think an Arcan is responsible then," Ianto stated.

"Yep, or else someone who didn't know what the hell they were doing. You see, the crystals aren't quite compatible with humans." Jack leaned forward, and Toshiko felt a little uncomfortable with him getting that close to her cleavage. "And, I'm thinking there would've been some sort of mind control involved to get Tosh to actually put it on." He looked up, smiling at her gently. "Our Tosh is too strong a person to let someone influence her otherwise."

She blushed at the compliment. "I don't feel very strong right now," Toshiko admitted.

"You are," Jack repeated. "Anyone else, I think they would have just let the pendant control them. Not you…you came here, to Ianto, even if you couldn't come right out and ask for help. Now, let's get this thing off you. I'm going to run out to my car for a containment box. Just sit tight, and I'll be right back." He touched her cheek lightly, then in a swirl of greatcoat he was gone.

Toshiko turned back to the dragon; his head was twisted around so he could look at her, and his ancient eyes were filled with concern for her. "I'm sorry," she blurted.

"Why are you sorry?" he asked, surprised.

"I…read your mind," she admitted. "I didn't want to – "

"Tosh, it's fine," he answered. "I'm not sure you can exactly help yourself at the moment. We'll get that off of you, then you can tell us what happened. Don't worry; we'll fix this."

Jack was back in no time, and using a latex glove he carefully removed the pendant from around Toshiko's neck. He tucked it away in the containment box he'd brought up.

The moment the pendant was locked away, Toshiko felt herself again. She let out a long sigh, and she looked at both of her friends, smiling widely. "Thank you." She hugged Jack, then looped an arm around the dragon's neck. "Thank you both so much."

She couldn't believe how better she felt, now that the pendant was gone. A weight had been lifted from her very soul, and she felt free again.

"Now," Jack said, making himself comfortable next to her, his own back nestled comfortably against the dragon's side, "why don't you tell us what happened?"

She was more than willing to do just that.


	33. Mind Games Chapter Four

Mind Games - Chapter Four

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Don't own Torchwood, but I would have treated it better.

Author's note: Next chapter of Mind Games is here! Thanks for everyone who have reviewed and read, I really appreciate it as always.

* * *

><p><em><strong>16 November 2007<strong>_

Toshiko told them everything. She told them about leaving the Hub yesterday, and about going to the pub for a drink. She explained how Mary had approached her, and how she'd found herself listening to Mary and sharing things she shouldn't have. She didn't gloss over anything, although she was heartily embarrassed that she'd fallen under the other woman's spell so quickly.

"It's obvious that you were being influenced," Jack reassured her. "Even without the pendant, the Arcan would still have enough telepathic _oomph_ to push you the way she'd want you to go." He glanced up at Ianto. "Remind me to start some sort of psychic shield training, to avoid this in the future."

The dragon hummed his agreement.

The tech expert went on, about how she'd gone into the Hub that morning, and what she'd heard from Owen and Gwen. That information caused a short staring match between man and dragon, and Toshiko realized they'd come to some sort of consensus when Jack had asked her to continue.

She did so, telling them of her discomfort, and her decision to tell Jack about it…only that Jack hadn't come into the Hub. The captain apologized, saying that he'd had business elsewhere; he didn't go into it, and Toshiko didn't ask, although from Ianto's reaction he'd known exactly what that business was.

She finished with her coming here. "It just wasn't right," she said. "It bothered me to read anyone else's minds, but I just couldn't seem to stop myself."

Jack nodded. "That was the pendant's influence. Don't worry, Tosh; it can't get to you any longer."

She felt relieved, smiling at Jack's reassurance. Then, she frowned. "What about Mary?"

"We'll stop her, Tosh," Ianto promised.

"But why me? Why did she choose me?"

"She most likely picked up on your thoughts in that bar," Jack answered. "It wouldn't have mattered which one of us it was, as long as the right conditions were met."

Toshiko looked back on last night, and realized her most overpowering thought was anger at her colleagues for what had happened in the Hub. She'd been furious at both Gwen and Owen for wrecking her program and for making light of the work she'd been doing, and for flaunting their shagging to all and sundry.

She nodded in understanding. "I can see why I was such a tempting target."

"I'm sure she had a reason for wanting you to basically betray your teammates," Jack went on. "As soon as we find her, we'll ask." He graced her with a smile, reaching across and patting her on the knee. To anyone else, it might have seemed patronizing, but from Jack it was strangely paternal.

Well, maybe not that strangely, given what they now knew about him, and just how old he really was.

Jack's mobile rang, and the captain cursed as he had to shift around to dig it out of his coat pocket. "Yes, Owen?" he answered.

He listened for a second, then put the mobile on speaker. " _– finished the post-mortem on that body we found out at the construction site," _the medic was saying. Toshiko could hear Gwen singing somewhat teasingly in the background, and it sounded like that silly children's song about the human skeleton. _"Stop singing,"_ he snapped.

The singing got louder.

"What did you find, Owen," Jack snapped, in his no-nonsense 'Captain' voice.

"_Well, I've had to tweak some of my initial conclusions, hence Cooper being annoying. The first being that this isn't, in fact, a woman. It's a man."_

They could hear Gwen laughing.

"_Okay, yeah I was wrong,"_ Owen admitted grudgingly, _"but it's a very girly man."_

"_But still a man,"_ Gwen chortled.

"Gwen, let Owen finish his report," Jack ordered.

The laughing stopped, dropping into what Toshiko swore was a pouting silence.

"_I also thought that the wound might have been GSR," _Owen went on. _"The real answer is…I don't know what caused it. You see this sort of thing in RTA's: when something like a steering column or a post goes into a body at great velocity."_

"_So there wasn't anything at all right about your initial prognosis?"_ Gwen asked.

Toshiko watched as Jack stifled a sigh at the antics. "That's enough," he said. "Is there anything else you have for me? Or are you two just larking about back there?" He didn't sound happy, but then he didn't look very happy either.

"_There's something about this,"_ Owen mused. _"I could swear I've seen this sort of injury before. I'm going to search a few hospital databases and see what comes up."_

"You do that. Toshiko and I are on our way back in." Jack snapped the phone closed. "Tosh, I don't want you to leave my sight until we know more about what's going on with the Arcan. In the meantime, you and I are going to work on that piece of tech we found with the body. I want to know exactly what's going on." He stood, then helped Toshiko to her feet.

"And I suppose this means I get to remain useless and stuck here," Ianto muttered.

Jack's face cleared of its irritation at Owen and Gwen. He reached over and stroked his fingers down the dragon's snout, eliciting a near-purr from him. "Sorry," the captain answered, "but you're still under restriction. "

Ianto's face dropped, but he nodded. "I just feel helpless while someone is out there, stalking our Toshiko."

The technician felt her chest warming at how he'd referred to her. She could understand why he felt that way, but she didn't want him to risk his recovery for her.

Then something occurred to her. "You don't have to sit by and do nothing," she said. She went over to the computer she'd set up for him, so he could use it without having to use his overly large claws on the keyboard. "You can be going through the CCTV, looking for Mary." Her own fingers moved on the keyboard. "I can route the Hub's control to you, it's easy enough. Then you can be on the lookout for her." She went on to describe the woman who'd approached her. "There. You can run the scanning program vocally now." She smiled up at the dragon. "You won't feel so helpless that way."

"Thank you, Tosh," the dragon said, his eyes almost glowing with pleasure.

"You're welcome."

"If you find anything – " Jack began.

"I'll call immediately," the dragon promised.

"And I'll be back later, once this is all sorted."

"I look forward to it. And, if you bring Tosh, we can all do a movie night. She can stay in my guest room while there's a threat against her."

Jack nodded. "Agreed."

"I can look after myself!" Toshiko protested, even though she was secretly pleased that they wanted to watch out for her.

"But you don't have to," Jack answered. "Not when you have a dashing hero and a brave dragon to do that for you."

A smile curled up one side of her mouth. "Well, when you put it that way…"

* * *

><p>The drive back to the Hub was made up of silence, punctuated by Jack asking random questions about her encounter with Mary, and the soft crooning of Ella Fitzgerald from the car's speaker system.<p>

Toshiko could tell that Jack was trying to put things together. She'd been working with him long enough to recognize the look; it was so very different from Jack's usual grinning devil-may-care expression that it was almost like looking at a whole other person. Sometimes it was easy to forget that Jack was leader of Torchwood for a reason; that he did, in fact, know how to command and that he had a very sharp mind. It was equally simple to discount him, especially when he had a tendency to blow up the microwave at the oddest times, and enjoyed using such anachronistic technology such as the old phonograph player with its collection of discs.

But it was just layers of Jack Harkness, and it covered up a person who knew more about quantum mechanics than most contemporary scientists and who could fly all types of aircraft, on and off the Earth. He'd admitted to her about being from the 51st century, and it made Toshiko think about all the times that current tech had seemed to stump him. She'd known then to never think that Jack was an idiot; not that she had before, but it had been easy to think that he was just inept at certain things. Before his confession she'd had ample opportunity to see his expertise with alien technology, and had known that Jack was more than just how he appeared. Now, she knew that current tech was just below him, and that he had to work that much harder to use it.

They arrived back at the Hub, stopping for coffee on the way. Once there, Jack removed the containment box containing the pendant and led the way inside, Toshiko bringing in the coffees.

Owen was still in the autopsy bay, fussing over the corpse they'd found. She handed him a coffee, and he smiled at her. "You are gorgeous," he said by way of thanks.

Toshiko found herself blushing slightly, but knew not to read too much into it. "Still trying to figure it out?" She motioned toward the skeleton.

The medic nodded. "I'm thinking now it might be some sort of ritual."

"What kind?" Jack's voice echoed around the circular room. He'd joined them, leaning on the railing and looking downward.

Tosh went up to him, handing him another of the coffees. The box was gone, and she guessed he'd already locked it away in the Secure Archives.

"Not sure," Owen confessed. "But I started looking into devil-worship and stuff from that era, see if there's anything about plucking out hearts. Guess what? There's nothing. They ate eyeballs, they drank blood, they had sex with animals, but they didn't pluck out each other's hearts. Cos obviously this is what happened, now that I've gotten a closer look."

"But you said you thought you recognized it," Jack pointed out.

"Yeah, I know." Owen actually chewed on his lower lip, a sure sign that he was confused by it all. "There's something…does it remind you of anything?"

Jack shook his head, and Toshiko thought to lighten the mood a little. "Kinda like that bit in "Alien" where that thing bursts out of John Hurt?"

Owen snorted, but she could tell it had done the trick. "I'm sorry, I should have been more specific. Does it remind you of anything _helpful_?"

"No, sorry."

"Right. Well, then why don't you go over there somewhere, " he motioned in the general direction of her station, "and do your computer stuff, and maybe think of shoes, okay?"

Toshiko rolled her eyes, but she did head over to the work stations, Jack behind her. She went to set Gwen's coffee down on the other woman's desk, but the ex-PC seemed to appear as if by magic. "Thanks, sweetheart," she said, taking the offered cup.

She was very glad that the pendant was gone now. She had no desire to know what her fellow teammates were thinking.

"C'mon," Jack urged, "I've got the tech set up on the work table in the armory. Let's say you and I go take a look and see if we can't figure out what it is?"

Toshiko followed, ready for a challenge to take her mind off what had happened with Mary.

* * *

><p>The device cleaned up really well.<p>

It sat, gleaming under the lights, and Jack looked thoroughly disgusted with himself. "I must be getting senile," he muttered angrily. "Why didn't I think of it before?"

"What is it?" Toshiko asked, not liking Jack's tone.

"It's Arcateenian," he answered grimly.

Dawning realization hit her. "Just like Mary."

"I think we now know why she chose you."

"She must have been there, to see us find it." Toshiko turned to leave. "I'm going to go back over the CCTV footage, see if she was at the construction site."

She hurried to her terminals, Jack at her heels. With a few keystrokes Toshiko had the footage from the site up on her main screen, and she was forwarding through it, looking for a familiar face amongst the crowd beyond the barricades.

It didn't take too long.

"There!" She froze the image. It was obviously Mary, standing amongst the rubberneckers at the scene.

"Get that to Ianto," Jack ordered. "It'll make his search a lot easier."

Toshiko was doing just that when Owen interrupted them. "You have to see this!" the medic's voice shouted from the autopsy bay.

She'd emailed the screen grab to the dragon in moments, then joined Jack and Gwen down at Owen's station. Owen was ashen, and his hands trembled slightly as he used the keyboard to flip through the records on his screen. "It's impossible," he murmured. He turned to Jack. "It finally hit me why I thought that injury looked familiar. I ran across something like it when I was doing my A&E residency at Cardiff General. We had a case come in, a woman, with a wound just like that. I searched some more, and found something called Project Lowery through the local coppers." He turned back to the monitor. "So, I dug into that, and found a long list of deaths, going back decades. Same cause of death: a hole punctured through the ribcage, heart gone."

Jack had been looking angrier and angrier as Owen's recitation progressed, until by the end he was thunderous. Toshiko shivered, very glad that she'd had the strength of will to go to Ianto about the pendant. Would she have ended up like those poor victims, once Mary had gotten what she'd wanted? Thinking back on the meeting in the pub, she remembered Mary's thought, that she'd wanted to kiss Toshiko. Was she some sort of alien sexual predator? Had all her victims let her get close, then killed them after having her way with them? Or had she chosen Toshiko because Torchwood had that device, whatever it was? Would she have left Toshiko unharmed once she'd gotten it?

A mobile rang, the ringtone of "Moonlight Serenade" marking it as obviously Jack's. He pulled the phone from his pocket, flipping it open. "Harkness," he answered, his voice clipped.

Then his expression softened, and Toshiko guessed it was Ianto on the other end. "Got it," the captain answered. "We're on it." He hung up, turning to the rest of the team. "I have a lead on the alien who could be responsible."

That caused a minor bustle as everyone got ready to leave. Toshiko touched Jack's arm. "Where is she?"

Jack looked at her, his eyes serious. "Outside your flat."


	34. Mind Games Chapter Five

Mind Games - Chapter Five

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own, it would have treated it better

Author's note: Welcome to the next chapter! Thanks for reading and such.

* * *

><p><em><strong>16 November 2007<strong>_

Toshiko parked her car just down from her flat, watching as Mary sat on the low stone wall just outside, a cigarette dangling from her lips, and illuminated by the streetlight overhead.

She took a deep breath, knowing that her team was nearby. When Jack had explained his plan, it had made sense to her; they had no idea if Mary would sense them surrounding her, and had asked that Toshiko go in as a decoy while he and the others got set to take her. They wanted as little fuss as possible; there was no telling what the Arcan would do once they moved in. The last thing Toshiko wanted was one of her neighbors to get caught in the crossfire.

Jack had given her a down and dirty lesson in avoiding a telepathic scan, and she put it into practice as she got out of the car. She thought back to the song Ianto had sung for her, the one he'd said was the song of the Earth Dragon, and while she wouldn't even attempt the words she could remember the tune. She brought the music to mind, and let her fill her head, in order to hide her thoughts from the alien who was currently jumping down off the wall and coming to greet her.

"Might have known you'd have my address as well," she said as Mary approached.

The woman frowned, and now that Toshiko knew that there was some sort of influence over her, she could feel Mary trying to get in. It had been that strange itch she'd felt, back at the pub, and she tried to use the song to block it out. It was harder than she'd believed, but she tried anyway. "Did you tell them?"

Toshiko shrugged. "No, I didn't," she lied.

Mart smiled smugly, stubbing her cigarette out against the wall then throwing the butt over it. "What changed your mind?" Her smile grew wider. "You listened to them, didn't you? See, I told you! It's incredible, some of the stuff you hear…"

"Why?" Toshiko asked. "Why did you give it to me? What is it?"

"I told you," the alien in human form answered evasively.

Toshiko shook her head, doing her best to drown out her thoughts with the song. "The things I heard…what they thought of me…God, these are the people who are supposed to _like_ me!" She played it up a bit, wanting Mary as distracted as possible.

Mary frowned again, and Toshiko felt her trying to probe once more. She began to hum under her breath, to fortify the dragon song in her head.

"You think you know someone," she went on, as Mary practically moved into her personal space. "Then, suddenly you see them for real, and they're…bastard little kids."

She knew that they'd be listening. Jack had made that clear, that the others would be monitoring the situation. That meant Gwen and Owen now knew that she'd read their minds, and a part of her wished she could see their faces.

Then she went back to the song, wanting to make sure Mary hadn't heard that.

"What is that?"

Toshiko looked at her innocently. "What do you mean?"

"You have a song in your head."

Her eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't expected Mary to admit that she was actually trying to read Toshiko's own mind. "So, you can read me without the pendant?"

Mary got a cornered look in her own eyes, the darkness within them deepening. "Where is the pendant?" she asked.

Toshiko saw Jack moving up behind Mary, and she smiled. "I don't have it."

"You – where is it?"

Her surprise was comical, and the technician grinned.

"It," Jack drawled, causing Mary to spin on her heel, "is safe, locked up in my Secure Archives. I do believe you're not from around these parts." His comedy American Southern accent was almost as funny as Mary's expression of shock had been.

The alien turned back to Toshiko. "You told them!"

"You used me!" Toshiko snapped. "You controlled me, gave me that damned pendant and tried to convince me it was a good thing that I could spy on my teammates."

Gwen and Owen chose that moment to join the party, guns out, and from the looks on their faces Toshiko knew she'd have some serious explaining to do once this was all over. With the four of them, Mary was surrounded.

"You underestimated our Tosh," Jack said, sounding almost triumphant. "You wanted to use her to get to that transporter of yours."

"I just want to go home," Mary whined, her eyes locked on Toshiko's.

The technician could tell that the Arcan was still trying to get to her, but now the once-subtle tingling had turned into a rough scratching, and it was giving Toshiko a headache. "You could have simply asked," she retorted. "We could have helped you."

"No, you wouldn't!" Mary spat. "You'd have just examined me, assessed whether or not I'd be useful, whether I'm a danger, then locked me away in a cell. You're not interested in understanding alien cultures. Did you really think I was just going to walk into that, hands raised in surrender?"

"That used to be Torchwood," Jack answered softly. "It isn't anymore. We've changed, and we would have helped if you'd just asked for it."

"And I'm going to believe that?" Mary retorted.

Jack shrugged. "What you believe isn't up to me. We would have, but that was before you went after a member of my team. Before you used her to try to get you what you wanted. I know what you are, and I know that transporter was a two-person device…room for one prisoner and one guard. Now, I'm just familiar enough with your culture to know you'd have had to have been a political prisoner, to be exiled like that."

Mary went pale. Toshiko almost felt sorry for her.

"What happened to the guard?" Jack demanded, moving closer.

That question seemed to release whatever restraint Mary had had. She smiled, and that expression made Toshiko shiver. "I killed him," she admitted lightly. "But I was disturbed. A woman, and she was running. It was simple to take her body." She shrugged. "But then, there was a soldier. He tried to shoot me, so I plunged my new human hand into his chest and plucked out his heart."

She seemed so proud of what she'd done. Toshiko once again realized just how close she'd come to being Mary's next victim, and she was so very glad she'd been able to throw off the pendant's control long enough to get to Ianto.

"And you've been doing it ever since," Owen growled, the hand cradling his gun flexing, as if he were itching to shoot. He probably was.

"This form needs to be fed," the alien said matter-of-factly.

Toshiko saw a pair of curtains flick at the neighbors across the street, and was glad that Ianto had called Detective Inspector Swanson to warn her not to dispatch any of the local coppers if someone called about any disturbances.

"All the punctures were about the size of a fist," Owen went on. "My God, all those people…"

"I fled before any more soldiers came," Mary went on, looking as if Owen's disgust didn't register. "I had so much to explore! And this body…" she caressed herself. "So soft…so wicked. The power such a body has in this world!" She smirked at Toshiko. "We could have had a lot of fun, before I left. It's too bad you'll never know what you missed."

"It would have been rape," Toshiko shuddered. "You were manipulating me the entire time."

Mary winked at her. "If that's what you choose to believe. I don't have to coerce anyone, Toshiko. I could have anyone I wanted, and I wouldn't have had to use my telepathic abilities on them. You'd just be one more."

"And you would have killed her once you'd gotten what you wanted," Jack snarled.

"I would have had the transporter and been gone. You'd never have been able to catch me." She seemed too certain.

"Why now?" Gwen asked. "Why go after the transporter now?"

"It was safe as long as it was buried. But I felt it, the moment the air touched it, and I knew I had to retrieve it. And so, I found Toshiko. My beautiful Toshiko…"

Mary suddenly moved in a blur. Toshiko felt something grab her hair, yanking her backward. She couldn't help but shriek a little at the pressure on her head. She began to struggle, but felt something sharp touch her throat.

"Don't move," Mary ordered. "Or I'll cut her throat."

Toshiko's heart was hammering in her chest. She felt so very stupid for letting Mary get the drop on her, but the alien had moved so incredibly fast it had been impossible to even prepare for the attack. And now, she was a hostage to this alien who'd used her.

To say she was pissed off would have been an understatement.

She looked at Jack; there was something in his eyes, something telling her to stay calm and wait. Toshiko trusted him, and stood quiescent, the knife at her throat and one of Mary's preternaturally strong arms around her chest.

"Let her go," Jack said, one hand held out in supplication.

"Do it!" Owen snarled, moving to stand just beyond Jack.

"Toshiko," Mary whispered in her ear, her breath causing gooseflesh to rise on her neck, "tell them to give me the transporter."

"I can't do that, Mary," the technician answered calmly. Her eyes met Jack's, and he nodded slightly.

"You're surrounded," Jack went on. "You're not going anywhere."

"I can cut her faster than you can shoot," Mary warned. "I want my transporter."

"You'll just be taken again once you get back," Toshiko said.

"Two hundred years have passed. They'll be a new government…in fact, there'll have been about twenty new governments by now. I'll be perfectly fine."

"Let Toshiko go and we'll talk about it," Gwen tried to reason.

Mary's mouth was at Toshiko's ear again. "You heard them, when you wore the pendant. These aren't your friends, Toshiko. They belittled you. They don't even know you, not like I do. We have a connection, beautiful Toshiko. You can feel it, can't you? I know you can…"

"You lost your hold on me," Toshiko answered. "I know who my friends are, and they aren't you." She did know; Jack and Ianto were her friends, they were the ones to notice that something was wrong, and to help her when she needed it. They were the ones she trusted above anyone else, and she would continue to do so.

The point of the knife pressed keeper into the tender skin of Toshiko's throat. "If you want me to let her go, then give me the transporter. I'll be on my way, and you can have your precious Toshiko back."

"Okay," Jack said. "You want the transporter, and we want Toshiko. I think it's a fair swap."

"You can't let her go!" Gwen argued. "She's a murderer!"

Toshiko rolled her eyes, and she knew Jack had seen her do it due to the exasperated look on his face. "We don't have a choice, Gwen. Now, it's just in the SUV. I'll go and get it, and you don't do anything we'll all regret."

"Get it then," Mary answered. "We'll wait right here."

Jack jogged off, leaving Toshiko with a homicidal alien and two colleagues she didn't particularly trust at the moment, who were currently aiming guns in her general direction. Toshiko wondered if Ianto was watching via the CCTV that she knew was on her block. She was willing to bet he was, and was probably very worried for her. She'd have to go and let him know she was all right once this was over.

In moments, Jack was back, holding the transporter. He got close enough to hand it over, grabbing Toshiko out of Mary's grasp as the alien took the transporter in hand.

But, she managed to pull Jack toward her, and Toshiko noticed that the two of them blocked whatever shots Owen and Gwen might have had. Mary's nose crinkled, and she stared at the captain. "You smell…different," she said.

Jack smiled lethally at her. "Fifty-first century pheromones. You have _no_ idea."

"What are you?" she hissed.

"I don't know," Jack admitted seriously.

"And you'd put me in a cage?" she asked disbelievingly.

"I never said we would," he answered. "You're the one who assumed that. But you started this, and we're going to finish it." He released his own hold on the transporter.

It immediately began to power up.

Just as Toshiko had known it would.

"What's happening?" Mary shouted.

Jack put his arm around Toshiko, moving them both out of range. She reveled in the contact, enjoying the support. "Oh, that. We reprogrammed it for you. It's set to enable."

A bright light flooded out of the artifact, and Toshiko had to cover her eyes even though she'd known to expect it. Jack had explained the workings of the transporter to her before they'd left the Hub, telling her what he'd intended on doing.

He'd asked her if it was all right, and she loved him for it.

"What happened?" Gwen asked.

"I reset the coordinates," Jack answered, steering Toshiko toward her car. He squeezed her waist comfortingly.

"Where to?" Owen asked.

Jack looked down at Toshiko, and she saw the uncertainty there. She nodded, reassuring him that what he'd done was all right with her. "To the center of the sun," she answered for him. Then she threw a sarcastic smile over her shoulder at her stunned teammates. "It shouldn't be that hot, with it being night and everything."

"You killed her," Gwen accused fiercely.

"Yes," Toshiko said harshly.

And she and Jack walked away.


	35. Mind Games Chapter Six

Mind Games - Chapter Six

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, I would have treated it better

Author's note: This is the last chapter of Mind Games, the Dragon-verse version of "Greeks Bearing Gifts". Hoped you enjoyed it! Next up, The Torchwood Murders, which is "They Keep Killing Suzie".

Thanks to everyone reading and reviewing, and adding this to their favorites. You all really make me feel appreciated! Hope you keep on reading!

* * *

><p><em><strong>16 November 2007<strong>_

They stopped for Chinese on the way back to Ianto's house.

Toshiko held the bags as Jack unlocked the door, relief practically slamming into her as she crossed the threshold. She hadn't realized just how tightly wound up she'd been before, but just knowing that the whole thing was over was a weight off her mind. Being at Ianto's, to her, meant that she was safe. And, while Toshiko prided herself on being strong and independent, everyone needed to feel like that every once in a while.

The sound of footsteps practically pounding down the stairs made her look up; Ianto was in human form, and the smile that greeted her warmed her. The dragon was with her in a second; he removed the bags from her hands, handing them off to Jack, then wrapped her in a hug which she gratefully reciprocated.

"Hey," Jack complained, "don't I get one?"

Ianto pulled back just in time to catch the tail-end of the eye roll he'd sent in Jack's direction. "Ladies' first, Jack," he answered primly. "Didn't your mother teach you any manners?"

"I have excellent manners," Jack sniffed.

Ianto snorted, but he wrapped the captain in a hug anyway.

"Is that Chinese I smell?" he asked, eyeing the bags that Jack had set on the floor in order to receive his hug.

"Yes, it is," Jack confirmed. "And should you be human-shaped?"

"I have to be, to eat," the dragon replied, taking the bags and heading into the kitchen. "I doubt you're going to want to feed me sweet and sour chicken while I'm in dragon-form."

"I'd feed you anything, anytime, and anyhow," Jack leered.

Ianto ignored it. "Besides," he called, accompanied by the sounds of plates rattling, "I thought Tosh might need a hug."

Toshiko smiled. "I did, thank you."

Jack removed his greatcoat and boots, and then moved into the kitchen with the Chinese. She followed, leaning against the entry and watching them both work. They moved around each other easily; it was almost like watching a dance. It made her wonder if they'd ever admit how they felt about each other, because it was obviously more than friendship.

She thought back on that vision she'd had, about the blue-gray dragon. She hadn't been able to get much detail but the color, but it struck her that the dragon had been the exact same color as Jack's greatcoat.

But Jack wasn't a dragon. Ianto would know if he were. And yet, she couldn't help but think it was some sort of sign, and perhaps Ianto was misinterpreting it?

Or, maybe Toshiko was just a hopeless romantic, and wanted her two friends to be happy.

"We'll do a movie," Ianto said, as he dished up their supper. "We can take the plates upstairs, and when we're done I can change back…although I feel just fine. The pain is gone."

"You still have a couple more days," Jack scolded lightly, going for the refrigerator for drinks. "We don't want you to relapse. I need you back at the Hub, to keep me from going crazy."

"Too late," Toshiko teased, unable to resist.

Jack pouted, and Ianto laughed. "You left yourself wide open for that one, Jack."

"You're right," the captain grinned. "Come on; let's get this stuff upstairs. We can relax for a bit, and then I'll head back to the Hub to monitor the Rift for the night." He looked disappointed.

"Stay," Ianto said softly. "I'll be able to tell if the Rift acts up, even this far from the Hub."

The small smile Jack graced the dragon with melted Toshiko's heart. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Jack. I'm sure."

"Then let's eat and take the rest of the night off." Jack practically bounded up the stairs, carrying his plate and drink.

Toshiko laughed at his excitement. She exchanged grins with Ianto, then took her own food up into the loft, the dragon following.

* * *

><p><em><strong>17 November 2007<strong>_

Toshiko arrived at the Hub with Jack the next morning, completely relaxed after spending the night at Ianto's. She'd taken the bed up in the loft; Jack had been quite content to sleep against the dragon's flank, and Ianto had seemed quite content to let him. Jack had accompanied her back to hers for change of clothes – Toshiko had instinctively looked around for Mary, but had mentally kicked herself for it – and then he'd ridden in with her.

She'd even found an oldies station on the radio for him to listen to.

"You going to be okay?" he asked quietly, in the pause between songs.

Toshiko nodded. "I think so, yeah. It's funny though…such a small thing, that pendant. And yet it could be one of the most powerful pieces of alien tech we've ever come across. It could take down governments, wipe out armies. "

"That's why it's going to be buried in the Secure Archives where no one can get to it," Jack swore. "That sort of power…it can corrupt. We're all lucky you're strong enough to handle it."

"I might not have been."

"But you were."

Toshiko nodded slightly. "I guess I was."

Jack was silent for a few moments, then he asked, "Are you really okay with what happened to Mary?"

She considered the question. "Yes, because I understand why it had to be that way. Sending her back home was out of the question, because for her to have been exiled in the first place her crime had to have been bad. Having her transport to the Shadow Proclamation wouldn't have worked either, because Earth isn't a member. Chances were, they would have released her because they wouldn't have recognized our grievance. And we couldn't have imprisoned her, because she would have found some way to influence one of us and could have escaped." She let one hand leave the steering wheel, to reach across the console and take Jack's, squeezing. "I do understand, Jack. And I'm fine with it." She was, even though Toshiko wasn't usually a bloodthirsty person. There just hadn't been any other way.

"Well, those are good reasons," Jack admitted. "But at the time I was only thinking about what she'd done to you. No one messes with my team and gets away with it. I wanted to punish her for that."

"You'll always want to protect us, Jack. Please don't take this the wrong way, but you're almost like our father, in a way."

Jack laughed. "But I look good for a dad!"

She joined him in his laughter. "Yes, you do."

"So," he said playfully, "who does that make the mother?"

"Ianto, of course!"

Jack laughed even harder. "You might not want to tell him that! He might take offense at being thought of as a girl."

Toshiko grinned. "No way am I saying a word."

"Good. Because he might serve you decaf of that remark!"

She gave a mock shiver. "Anything but that!"

"I'll just pretend you didn't say anything then. Although, it would make very good blackmail material…"

Toshiko slapped him lightly. This felt good, to have friends such as these two.

They were her family.

* * *

><p>The moment they'd stepped into the Hub, Toshiko had known that there was going to be some sort of confrontation between herself and her two other teammates.<p>

Not that she hadn't expected it. The moment that Owen and Gwen had heard that she'd been able to read their thoughts, Toshiko had known this would come. She was actually prepared for it, and when Jack had looked at her questioningly she simply nodded. She couldn't avoid this.

Jack touched her arm in support, then headed toward his office. Toshiko herself went to her station, her eye on her two teammates as they huddled around Gwen's desk, whispering intensely.

"Good morning," Toshiko said to them both, interrupting their conversation. She put her bag down, and removed her coat before switching on her monitors. She would let them approach her, because she wasn't going to go out of her way to explain anything.

It took almost a minute before they did just that.

"So," Gwen asked somewhat uncertainly, "how long have you had this…ability?"

Toshiko shrugged. "It wasn't an ability. It was alien tech. And I was wearing it yesterday."

"What did you hear?" Owen asked bluntly, almost angrily.

She turned to look at the pair of them. Gwen looked nervous, while it was obvious that Owen wanted to pick a fight. Toshiko shrugged, turning back to her screens. "Just things that confirmed what I already knew." She still felt ashamed for what she'd done; it hadn't been any of her business what she'd heard them thinking, but she knew it was the pendant's influence. Both Ianto and Jack had talked to her about it, and she would just have to accept that.

Her chair was spun, and she was facing them once more. "What do you mean by that?" Owen demanded, his eyes narrowed in anger.

She stared at him, wanting to control her own irritation because she'd been in the wrong. But the fierceness in his gaze made her want to lash out at his own selfishness. They hadn't even noticed that something was wrong with her, content to ignore her presence while he played around with Gwen.

"What I mean," she answered slowly, "is that you both are selfish, egotistical, uncaring, and childish. Oh, and you've been shagging since the cannibals, but we all knew that. You haven't exactly been subtle."

Gwen went pale. Owen ground his teeth. "You had no right to go poking about in our heads!" he snapped.

"And you didn't even notice something was wrong," Toshiko snapped back, "because you think I'm weird anyway. And you'll never know what I'm like in bed, Owen Harper, so you can stop thinking about it immediately. You're not going to touch me…ever."

A part of Toshiko mourned the loss of that small hope that, one day, Owen would notice her. That he'd realize her feelings for him. Everything that had happened in the last couple of days had really brought home to her the fact that Owen wasn't capable of any emotion other than selfishness. Toshiko was worth more than that.

Plus, she had Tommy. She really wished it was time to wake him up again. He wouldn't judge her, not like these two did.

Owen took at step back, putting his hands up in an almost defensive posture. "Okay, so we didn't notice. Doesn't give you the right to raid through our minds like that!"

"I was under the control of an alien device," Toshiko ground out. "I had no choice. And it wasn't something I actually enjoyed. I didn't like hearing you objectify me like I didn't matter. Nor did I particularly care to hear about you two screwing each other." She sent a glare at Gwen. "You have a boyfriend, Gwen. And yet you're perfectly happy to risk all that for a man who's only using you. You're just another notch in Owen's bedpost."

"It's none of your business what I do," Gwen answered hotly.

"No, you're right. It isn't. But what _is_ my business is how you think about my best friend. It's not his fault you can't liaise with the police properly."

Gwen looked angry. "I can do my job just fine! No creature is better than I am!"

Toshiko laughed. "You're just jealous, Gwen. You're jealous because the authorities respect Ianto, and not you. Well, let me tell you something: you respect them, and they'll respect you. The same goes for me...which, you obviously don't. You need to earn my respect, and dissing how I dress or badmouthing my best friend isn't the way to go about it. So you see, that pendant was good for one thing: I now know precisely who my friends are. And the only ones who cared enough about me to notice something was wrong were Ianto and Jack. They took care of me, and they saved me. You two were too wrapped up in your own drama to notice. Now, I have to start salvaging this translation program that the two of managed to bollocks up. So, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

She turned back to her terminal, dismissing them completely. She had things to do, and she fully intended to do them.

Movement on the gantry caught her attention, and she looked up; Jack stood there, and he nodded once.

Toshiko nodded back, turning happily back to her computers.


	36. Torchwood Murders Chapter One

The Torchwood Murders - Chapter One

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, and that's a shame

Author's note: This is starting The Torchwood Murders, the Dragon-Verse version of "The Keep Killing Suzie". There were some serious scientific errors in this episode that got to me, and I corrected a bunch of them. I mean, DNA cannot tell is someone smokes!

* * *

><p><em><strong>24 November 2007<strong>_

Jack parked the SUV with his usual reckless abandon, and it was only due to years of practice that Ianto didn't grab onto the stabilization handle – or the 'Jesus Fucking Christ, Harkness!' handle, as Owen was fond of calling it – to keep from having the seatbelt choke him to death as he was thrown forward. It was a sheer miracle that Jack had managed to avoid the various pandas and other official vehicles that were parked outside the rather nondescript house that was the address Detective Inspector Swanson had given him when she'd called to report an incident that might be Torchwood-related.

Ianto unhooked his belt then left the SUV just after Jack, and he knew Owen was just behind them. Toshiko had also come, but she was staying in the SUV, in order to run various scans and searches on the scant information the DI had given him during their short phone conversation. Gwen was back at the Hub, doing a bit of training on monitoring the team while they were onsite, even though she'd been miffed about being left behind.

Swanson had sounded strained; and as Ianto approached her he could see that she looked about the same as she'd sounded. There were tight lines around her eyes, and her back was so straight Ianto had to wonder if it hurt to stand like that. She crosser her arms as they approached, tucking a file folder under her elbow to hold it in place.

"At last," she snapped. "You took your time."

Jack gave her a flirtatious grin. "I'm sure it was worth your wait, Detective Swanson."

Swanson rolled her eyes. "Jones, can't you control him?"

"What have we got?" Ianto asked, in order to avoid actually answering that question.

"Three victims, although the first was yesterday," Swanson reported, opening the folder that she'd been holding. "That one was Alex Arwyn, murdered at his home on Oakham Street. He was twenty-eight, single, a real estate agent." She passed the folder to Ianto, and both Jack and Owen crowded in to see it as well.

The photos were gruesome. Blood was everywhere, and the victim lay in a large pool of it. It looked as if he'd been butchered.

"Today, we get two more," Swanson went on. "Mark and Sara Briscoe, both thirty-three, married. He's a surveyor and she works in education."

"What's that on the wall over the body?" Jack asked, taking one of the photographs, in order to get a closer look. "Is that some sort of writing?"

He gave the photo back to Ianto, who squinted at the area Jack had indicated. Yes, it did look like someone had tried to write something, and the dragon wondered why the killer hadn't finished whatever it was. He certainly doubted it had been the victim, that poor soul would have been too badly injured to try anything, even if he'd still been alive at the time.

"Work in progress," Swanson answered. "Come on in and see the finished thing."

The detective led the way into the house, past several other coppers and SOCO as they worked to gather evidence. The interior was nicely decorated, and Ianto appreciated the taste of whomever it had been who'd purchased the furniture. The lounge was neat, he noticed as they passed through toward the hallway leading into the rear of the home.

He could smell the coppery tang of blood as they approached the crime scene. It was thick in the air, like a fog over everything. Ianto could tell that Jack could smell it as well; the man's 51st century senses were a bit stronger than the humans of this time, but not as strong as Ianto's own, even in his ephemeral form. He swallowed to keep from gagging on it.

Swanson must have noticed; she gave him a tiny, sympathetic smile.

The bedroom was a disaster. The place had been trashed, even as the owners lay on the bed, deep rusty blood staining the sheets. It was obvious that the victims' throats had been cut, and that they had bled out. Various crime scene techs were about, gathering more of what might be evidence and taking pictures of the pair of corpses.

But it was the wall that drew Ianto's attention.

Written in great swaths of blood across what had once been off-white paint was the word, 'Torchwood'.

"Shit," Owen swore. Ianto agreed with him,

"Looks like someone's trying to get your attention," Swanson said.

"They've got it," Jack growled. The expression on his face meant trouble for whoever had done this.

Owen passed out gloves, and Ianto put his pair on. He couldn't help but stare at the two bodies, wondering if they'd been somehow killed because of something Torchwood was involved in, or if they'd just been unlucky enough to be chosen as victims for a random murderer. Either way, it made his blood boil. He couldn't understand the need for certain humans – and various aliens – to deliberately murder others. Of course he understood killing in war, or for vengeance, but this…no, he didn't think he'd ever quite get it.

"We found a few of what we think are the killer's hairs at the scene of yesterday's murder," Swanson went on. "The results should be in soon."

"Good," Jack answered. "We'll need those. Ianto, could you and Detective Swanson clear the room? Some of our equipment is strictly need to know."

The dragon was glad Jack had asked him, because the blood smell was starting to get to him. He didn't usually have a weak stomach; after all, he did all the clean-up for Torchwood operations, and he'd dealt with things that would make the most experienced SOCO sick. But there was something about this particular scene that disturbed him, and he keenly felt the urge to leave.

Swanson sighed, and turned toward the door. "Okay, everyone out," she called to her people. Then she looked back toward Jack. "It was only a matter of time."

Jack looked back at her. "What was?" he asked, his eyes angry.

Swanson must have seen the expression, because she took a step back. But her own features didn't change; they were nearly as angry as Jack's were. "Torchwood walks all over this city," she answered. "It's like you think you own it. Now these people have paid the price for it. From where I'm standing, you did this, Captain. You did this."

With those words, she left the room behind her investigators, leaving the three with the two dead people.

Jack sighed. "Sometimes I wish they'd just get why I act the way I do…go with her, Ianto. I wouldn't even try to spin this in a good way."

"Still," Owen said, opening his equipment case, "at least we've got a head start. If it's someone we've pissed off, that narrows it down to…oh, about four or five million."

"And that's just the humans," Jack added. He activated his comm. "Tosh, how are we doing?"

Ianto activated his own comm. in order to hear Toshiko's report, as he left Jack and Owen to it. He could understand Swanson's frustration; he felt it sometimes as well. Jack was always running over people in the name of Torchwood business, and Ianto had often warned him that his attitude could backfire. Jack seemed determined to get on the bad side of just about anyone in authority. The dragon had tried to get him to change his ways, but nothing worked. Ianto chalked it up to Jack's tiny streak of megalomania. And yes, Jack Harkness did have one, as much as the immortal wanted to deny it.

But he also knew that Jack did some of what he did to protect innocents. Ianto didn't agree with how he did it, and it often took a lot of soothing of ruffled feathers to get people back on speaking terms with them, but Ianto did it because it was necessary.

"_I've checked our mainframe," _Toshiko said, her voice soft in Ianto's ear as the dragon left the house. _"None of the victims are in it. I'm about to widen the search…wait, they have lab results."_

"I've got it," Ianto said, approaching Swanson as she was handed a file. "Detective?" he said, not wanting to startle her.

"Jones," she acknowledged his presence. "Good timing, just got the test results on those hairs." She flipped the file open. "DNA is male, and doesn't match anything we have on our databases. I'm sure though you have more resources than we do." She favored Ianto with a knowing look, and the dragon didn't dissuade her. He could hear Toshiko in his ear, saying she would run the results through other criminal records. "Hm…looks like there's some interesting chemical traces from the hair itself. Some sort of unknown substance. Maybe a new type of designer drug?"

Ianto looked at the results. Something in the back of his mind niggled at him; he was certain he knew what that formula was.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, Toshiko piped up on the comms. _"It's Retcon,"_ she proclaimed. _"Whoever murdered those people had been given Retcon sometime in the near past, if these results are correct."_

"_How close, Tosh?" _Jack demanded.

"_Just a second…okay, judging from what I can find out about the length of the hair found, it would have had to have been within the last five months, give or take a month."_

Ianto cursed silently, as both Jack and Owen did the same verbally. _"Retcon can show up in hair long after it's been given," _Owen explained. _"Kinda like arsenic or other types of drugs."_

"_Why would the killer have been given Retcon?" _Gwen's voice piped up. Ianto had almost forgotten she'd have been listening in.

"_That's what we need to find out,"_ Jack said. _"Ianto, I'll want a full inventory of all Retcon supplies when we get back to the Hub. It might be too late to trace, but we can try. We'll also need lists of everyone given Retcon in that time period."_

Ianto didn't answer; he didn't want Swanson knowing what was going on behind the scenes. Instead, he said, "We have more sensitive equipment; we can do a more detailed analysis. If it is something like that, we'll let you know."

Swanson nodded. "Thanks. We'll need to know if there's some sort of new drug out on the market. Just one more thing we need: a new substance to add to the repertoire." She sighed. "Look, Jones…you know how I feel about Torchwood. Hell, I've ranted to you about it enough times. I think you all are far too secretive for your own good, and Himself lets the power go to his head." Ianto knew she was talking about Jack, and he nodded slightly in response. "I also know Torchwood's been around Cardiff for at least a century, and that you handle all the weird shit that goes on. But I swear, if you lot had anything to do with the murders of those three people, I'll make it my life's work to take you down. I won't let anything stop me, including our friendship. Is that understood?"

"Completely, Detective." This was but one of the reasons Ianto respected her so highly; Kathy Swanson had a sense of justice that wouldn't let her quit, not matter the hurdles she had to face. It was so different from Gwen's stubborn streak, in that what Swanson did was for the best of everyone involved, while Gwen only seemed to think of what was good for herself. "And if it's someone just trying to drag us in where we wouldn't normally belong?"

"Then I'll have your backs. Honestly? I don't see yourself getting into something so sordid as murder. I don't think Himself would get his hands dirty like that, either."

She obviously didn't know Jack all that well, if she didn't think he'd get his hands dirty, but Ianto did know that the captain wouldn't commit cold-blooded murder. Execution…yes. Murder…no.

And Ianto knew very well what the difference between the two was, from his own personal experience.

The problem was, this was looking more and more like a Torchwood issue, even discounting the writing on the bedroom wall. With Retcon involved in some way, this investigation could become very nasty. If it was just there by coincidence, then things would be fine. But, if not…well, the dragon had been around far too long to believe in coincidence.

Neither had Jack. That he was certain about.


	37. Torchwood Murders Chapter Two

The Torchwood Murders - Chapter Two

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, and that's just sad.

Author's note: Hi, everyone! Welcome to this, the second chapter of the Dragon-Verse rewrite of "The Keep Killing Suzie". Thanks for everyong reading and reviewing, and adding this to alerts and favorites. I hope you continue to enjoy!

* * *

><p><em><strong>24 November 2007<strong>_

"So," Gwen said, "this killer is someone we gave Retcon to?"

They were all sat around the boardroom table, notes on the murders spread around on the tabletop and displayed on the large plasma attached to the wall for everyone to read. Jack leaned back in his chair, taking a sip of coffee and barely refraining to make his usual orgasm-like moan at the flavor. Ianto just made the best coffee…

"Question is," Owen replied, twirling a pen in his fingers, "is he remembering he's a serial killer? Or is he becoming a serial killer because of the Retcon?"

"Wait a minute," Gwen said, "I've been given Retcon." She glared at Jack, who simply shrugged.

"Then better stay away from sharp objects," Jack deadpanned. He turned to his Second. "Ianto, how many people have we given Retcon to?"

The dragon considered. "Two thousand and eight," he answered. "But that doesn't include any unrecorded dosages, and only after we took over." He sat forward, steepling his fingers in front of him. "The problem is, that while record-keeping has gotten somewhat better, we just have no way of knowing how many we've actually given Retcon to. Each of us knows how to use it – with the exception of Gwen, who hasn't been trained with that yet – but there's still going to be times when we're out and run into problems that need Retcon given at any one time. I myself always carry one bottle with me, and I know Jack does as well. Unfortunately I sometimes haven't taken the time to get names and numbers of those I've had to use it on, at the spur of the moment."

Jack nodded. "Ianto has a point," he said. "We don't always have the time or inclination to get the information we need when using Retcon out in the field. For all we know, our killer could have been a random witness to a Weevil attack and we dosed him without even figuring out who he is. I know I'm bad at that."

"You are," Ianto agreed, a slight smile on his face. "You didn't even record giving it to Gwen after she found out about Torchwood. The only reason it was written down was because I knew you were going to do it."

"Oops," Jack answered sheepishly.

"So, we potentially have thousands of people out there who've been given Retcon," Owen clarified.

"That's about the size of it."

"Hey, what if they all become psychotic?"

"Do you have to sound so happy about it?" Toshiko asked sharply.

"I'm just saying." Owen retorted. "Mean Streets!"

"Look," Jack interrupted, before the conversation could get out of hand," Retcon has been thoroughly tested, and no one has ever gone insane and killed people after they'd been given it." He didn't want to go into any details about the actual testing; he was certain no one really wanted to know about Torchwood One's methods.

"I've taken a look at the hair itself," Owen said, leaning forward to pick up one of his notes. "Tosh was pretty accurate about the time of last dosage."

"How can you tell that from a hair?" Gwen wanted to know.

"Retcon stays in your system," Jack answered her. "It leaves traces that can show up in hair."

"Yeah," the medic added. "Kinda like when they give you a drug test, and they use a hair sample to determine if you've used in the last several months. You can pass a piss test pretty easily, but unless you got a haircut after you used last time, it's gonna show up."

Gwen reached up, as if to check her own hair, but let her hand fall.

"Was there anything else you could get from the hair?" Jack asked.

"Yeah. Judging from the amount of Retcon in the hair itself, I'd say whoever doped him did it over a length of time. Course, telling how long can't be done because of the shortness of the hair, but there was quite a build-up."

The room was silent, and in Jack's case it was from shock. Who would do such a thing? What would be the point? It was just another mystery, and they'd have to solve it as well. There was no way he was going to accept anyone continually dosing someone with Retcon. Certainly, One had done significant testing but there was nothing that he could remember in the notes that said they'd checked for long-term effects of overdosing. "We need to find out if there's some sort of connection between the three victims," Jack ordered. "If we can find that, then maybe we can find the killer."

"Jack?" Gwen put in, "If there's a link, why don't we ask the victims themselves?"

The captain looked at her sharply. Certainly she wasn't suggesting… "Not the time for a séance, thanks very much."

She shook her head. "The first time I met Torchwood, you had that glove…"

Hell, she _was_.

"No way," Jack answered.

"Not after what it did to Suzie," Owen added.

"It brings people back to life," Gwen went on stubbornly. "We could question the murder victims."

"That thing drove her crazy," the medic added. "It as good as killed her."

"The glove stays in the Secure Archives where it belongs," Jack ordered.

Gwen stood, leaning across the table, a belligerent look on her face. "These murders are happening because of Torchwood! So, Torchwood has to do something!"

Jack couldn't believe this. He'd already told her that the glove would not be used, and she was still arguing about it. Her stubbornness might have been a good trait to have in an investigation, but having it aimed in his direction pissed him off.

Before he could answer, Ianto stepped in.

"Jack said no, Gwen," the dragon snapped. "We're not using the glove."

"But Torchwood is at fault – "

"And how do you assume that? Yes, there is evidence that Torchwood is being drawn into this, but we don't know if we're at fault at all. You can't make assumptions without all the facts."

"Ianto is right," Toshiko said. "I won't go anywhere near that thing."

"Neither will I." Owen threw his pen down with a clatter. "That glove made Suzie bat shit nuts. No way do I want another teammate topping themselves or someone else because of it."

Jack looked at his team, and it really struck him just how they were divided up: his old team, against Gwen, the new person. Even Owen, who was obviously shagging her, was against her, at least in this instance. He wondered if this division would ever completely heal, or was it too late for Gwen to integrate into the team.

He'd been so sure that Gwen had had something that the team would need; that spark of humanity that would remind them what they were fighting for. But, just from Ianto and Toshiko, he'd gotten a different glance at things. It wasn't that anyone in Torchwood wasn't human...only that it was a different kind of humanity, one born of loss and pain and having to fight for life and for the lives of everyone around them.

Gwen didn't have that. She hadn't suffered, and because of that she lacked understanding of the others and thought it was them being heartless and cruel. He remembered her arguing about letting Ianto just have bereavement time after Lisa. She could only see the danger that Ianto had seemingly put them into, and not the absolute loneliness and loss that the dragon had suffered, and why he'd fought for the female dragon instead of letting anyone know she existed. And why, in the end, he'd killed her rather than let the poor thing get away to wreak havoc on the ephemeral world.

She couldn't sympathize with any of them, simply because she had no frame of reference to do so. What made it worse was that Gwen didn't seem inclined to even try.

Now, Gwen was trying to once again force her own morality on a situation, wanting to use something that would only damage someone further. Jack felt like he'd failed Suzie…just as he'd failed Ianto, and in other ways Owen and Toshiko. It had been a mistake to let her experiment with the glove, and he should have taken it away the moment he'd felt something was wrong. And Ianto had warned him; the dragon had said he sensed that the glove was nothing good, and that all it would do was corrupt an already dark Suzie.

But then, Jack didn't really trust the dragon's extra senses. He was learning, though, it was just taking him nearly losing people for him to get the hint.

"We aren't using the glove," Jack said. "This is my final word on the subject. " Gwen opened her mouth to object, but he held up his hand to stop her. "Arguing about it isn't going to change my mind, Gwen. In fact, it's just going to piss me off."

"There are other avenues of investigation we can follow," Ianto added.

"Exactly," Jack nodded. "The coppers don't have the glove; how do they investigate murders?" He wanted to challenge her, to make her see that using the technology they had on hand wasn't always the best thing to do.

Gwen crossed her arms, her face a mask of anger. "But, if we have the means, we should use them."

He couldn't believe she was _still_ arguing with him! "You're not going to get your way, Ms Cooper," he ground out. "So you may as well give it up. Keep on the way you're going and you'll be written up for insubordination and suspended. Is that clear?"

"You can't do that. You need me!"

"You keep saying that," he sighed. "But it's not true. No one is above the team, and right now you're working against that team. We need to work together to find out who's killing these people, and why they want Torchwood involved." He stared right at her, and she met his gaze squarely. "You're either with the team, or against it. If you're against it, then there's no place for you here. I once threatened you with Retcon; that threat still stands. Do you understand me?"

He could swear he heard her teeth grinding from across the table. Jack honestly thought she was going to keep fighting him, but Gwen nodded once, sharply, as if against her will.

"Thank you." Jack turned his gaze to each of his other teammates. "Now, we need to get working if we're going to find this killer. Toshiko," he addressed his technician, "I want you to run backgrounds on all of our victims. Go back as far as you can, and dig as deep as you can. Property records, financials, surviving family…the whole lot. The smallest thing they have in common…I want to know. Give me your best work."

Toshiko nodded in acknowledgement.

"Owen," Jack went on, "you've got medical. I want full autopsies on all the victims, as well as any and all medical records you can dig up. If they happened to sneeze on each other in queue at the bank, I want to know about it."

"You got it," the medic said.

"Gwen." The ex-PC stiffened at his brusque tone, but Jack didn't care. "You handle witness statements, and whatever reports and evidence the local coppers have gathered. Also, Toshiko has shown you how to pull CCTV; I want you to find the closest cameras to the victims' homes and search for anyone in common showing up on the recordings. Anything that looks wrong, you tell me."

"And Ianto." The dragon looked at Jack, his blue eyes intense. "You get to tackle the lovely Detective Inspector Swanson. She's a good investigator and she has good instincts. Also, get access to the scenes of crime. I want you to take a look around, poke that snout of yours into any corners you can find. Anything out of the ordinary could be a clue."

Ianto looked bemused. "I'll be certain to tell her you said that about her."

Jack snorted. "Please, don't. She might think you're insane."

"We know you're already nuts, Dragon Boy," Owen snarked. "There's no need for outside corroboration."

"You're right, of course," the dragon said dryly. "The last thing I need is Detective Swanson calling those nice young men in the clean white coats to escort me to Providence Park."

"They might even bring a comfortable 'hug-me' jacket with them," Toshiko teased.

Jack let the fantasy of Ianto in a straitjacket float across his mind. "I didn't know you were into bondage, Ianto."

The dragon smirked. "Only for you, Jack," he purred.

_Well, shit_. His tone went right to a part of Jack's anatomy that it shouldn't, not in front of the rest of the team.

"TMI!" Owen exclaimed. "I'm going to spend some time with those nice quiet corpses in the autopsy bay." He made his way out of the boardroom, Toshiko behind him with a broad grin on her face.

Ianto left next, winking at Jack as he walked past the captain. Jack chuckled, shaking his head. Yes, things were definitely getting back to normal between them.

"Jack."

Gwen's voice pulled him from his perusal of Ianto's arse in those very well fitting suit trousers. Jack glanced up; Gwen stood in the same spot, looking a bit less angry than she had before.

"What is it, Gwen?"

"Well, I thought I was the police liaison. Why is Ianto dealing with Detective Swanson?"

"Ianto and I both feel you're not ready for that sort of responsibility," Jack answered honestly. "Besides, as I'm sure you're aware, Swanson and Ianto are friends. He's liable to get more cooperation out of her than you will. She respects him."

"And you're saying she doesn't respect me?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," he replied. "To her, you're an ex-PC and a rookie on this team. Ianto has been dealing with her and her superiors for years. You haven't earned their good will yet."

"And I never will, if you won't let me do the job you hired me for."

In a way, Gwen had a point. But…"Gwen, I've seen how you act at the few crime scenes you've liaised on, and you take more after me than you do Ianto. See, we have a police liaison because I'm a bastard who rolls over everyone. I need someone who can be conciliatory, and to cover my ass when I irritate people. And really…you're not it. Ianto is. Now, I gave you work to do, and I suggest you get to it. After all, you're the one who's so convinced these murders are Torchwood's fault that you're willing to use a dangerous piece of alien tech despite your teammates' warnings."

Jack watched as she practically flounced out of the boardroom. He shook his head, then left to do his own task: reading every bit of information Torchwood London had come up with on Retcon. And to do a check on the inventory they had.

He didn't want to think that one of his people were responsible, but if Owen and Toshiko's estimation on when their killer had had his last dose, there was only one person he could come up with who'd died in the period of time the Retcon had stopped being administered.

Suzie Costello.


	38. Torchwood Murders Chapter Three

The Torchwood Murders - Chapter Three

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, and that's a shame

Author's note: Here's the next chapter! Thanks to everyone, I love you guys! Hope you like it!

* * *

><p><em><strong>24 November 2007<strong>_

Ianto entered the headquarters of Cardiff CID, carrying a thermos and a box holding what he considered the best pastries in the city.

He greeted the copper on desk duty with a slight smile. "Is Detective Inspector Swanson in?" he asked politely.

"She is," the man answered, "if those pastries are for general consumption."

Ianto had learned one thing about dealing with the police: their love of sweets wasn't just something the telly made up. He always came prepared when visiting the police station. "They are, except for the almond crème, which is for the detective."

Once the pastries had been distributed, the dragon headed back toward Swanson's desk, which was crammed between a coat rack and the stationery cupboard. His quarry was seated there, looking up as he approached, her eyes on the wrapped pastry in his hand. "You know how to treat a lady, Jones," she quipped as he took the seat on the side of the desk next to the overflowing inbox.

Ianto handed it over. "I try, detective," he answered lightly, using his now free hand to open the thermos and root around the pile of files for the coffee mug he'd seen as he was sitting. He snagged it, made certain it was empty, then poured his own special brew into it. The woman practically made grabby hands for it.

Swanson sipped the coffee, and while her happy noises weren't nearly as orgasmic as Jack's often were, it was obvious that she was enjoying it immensely. "I don't know how you do it," she said. "No one makes coffee like you do."

"It's a gift."

"It is. And you usually bring it when you want something." She speared him with her dark, knowing eyes. "Someone should have told you that attempting to bribe a police officer was a crime."

Ianto met her gaze, quirking an eyebrow in her direction. "But I only come to the station when I want something, and I always bring coffee. So you can't really judge it on that."

Her eyes brightened. "Very true, Jones." She sat back in her chair, bringing her pastry with her. "I take it this has to do with those murders."

"It does." The problem was, her desk, while a bit isolated from the rest in the large room, was still public, and there were certain things he didn't want to risk getting out. While he trusted her, it was the rest of the constabulary he wasn't certain about.

Something of his thoughts must have shown in his face, because Swanson nodded slightly. "You want to go somewhere more private?"

"If you don't mind."

"Just so long as I can take my pastry and coffee."

Ianto smirked. "I would never dare to come between a detective inspector and her snack."

Swanson laughed. "I always knew you were smart, and I don't just mean in the clothes department."

Ianto sent the second eyebrow her way. "Are you flirting with me, Detective?"

"God forbid," she answered, although the laugh in her voice belied the mock horror on her face.

She stood, collected her coffee and pastry, then led the way toward the Chief Inspector's office; it was empty, and she explained that DCI Henderson was on vacation. Ianto had worked with the man extensively before he'd been promoted, and while the dragon did respect him, he didn't feel a friendship with him that he did with Kathy Swanson. Ianto had liked Swanson even when she'd been a sergeant, and had been glad when she'd gotten her detective's badge.

Ianto stood aside and let her enter the office first; Swanson sat down in her bosses' chair behind the desk, while the dragon shut the door behind them and took a seat in the chair opposite. On the trip over he'd debated just how much he could tell her, but decided to take a wait and see attitude. Ianto wanted to have her fully onside, but at the same time he didn't want to overload her with information. His instincts were to come clean, and tell her all about Torchwood; and while he always tried to follow his instincts – after what had happened with Lisa, that lesson had been reinforced – he didn't want to put her in an untenable position with her superiors.

And then there was Jack. Ianto wasn't sure if he'd understand if Ianto was totally honest with Swanson, but then he didn't have the contact with the detective that Ianto did. However, Jack did know that Ianto would have told her long ago that he was a dragon, if not for the fact that he didn't want to make things hard for her.

Well, he'd see what happened now. Perhaps it was time for him to rethink that decision.

"So," Swanson began, looking at him over the edge of her mug, "you don't usually want this much privacy. Don't tell me the situation is all that bad."

Ianto shook his head. "It's still early in the investigation, so I can't say yet. "

"Then why all the cloak and dagger stuff? Did you find out that you lot really are involved?" Her voice went sharp.

"As I said, it's too early." He leaned back, resting his elbows on his chair and steepling his fingers in front of his face. "Kathy, I never really asked you: just what do you think Torchwood is?"

Swanson looked startled; whether it was by Ianto's calling her by her first name or the nature of his question, the dragon couldn't say. She set her mug down, frowning. "Well, there are all sorts of rumors out there – "

"Not rumors. What do you _think_?"

"I think you guys are into really weird shit, stuff that normal people aren't ready for," she answered seriously. "Torchwood's been around for decades, and you don't answer to anyone. To a lot of people, that's a scary thought. To some, it's comforting that you don't let things get in your way. Personally….for me, it's a combination of both. I'm just worried that, some day, you're going to go too far and innocents are going to pay for it. God, I don't know that they haven't already."

Ianto nodded. He guessed though that she knew more than she was saying, possibly out of a very real fear of sounding absurd. "You wouldn't be far wrong," he admitted, "although we do answer to someone: the Queen. So we're not as lawless as you might think."

"That's good, although I can't see Her Majesty really paying all that much attention to what you guys do."

"You'd be surprised." Queen Elizabeth was one of the few people who knew what Ianto really was, and she often called him "her Welsh dragon" when he would speak to her. "The Torchwood Institute was commissioned in 1879 by Queen Victoria to protect the Earth from outside threats and other phantasmagoria," he went on. "There have been several branches throughout that time, but right now there are only two left: Torchwood Two, in Scotland; and Torchwood Three, here in Cardiff. Torchwood One was in London, but it was destroyed. Torchwood Four disappeared, and one day may yet turn up. Other branches have long been decommissioned." He thought about Jack's tales about the Duchess, and how she'd run Torchwood India. With her, Yvonne, Archie, and then Jack, the dragon often wondered if it was some sort of prerequisite that leaders of Torchwood had to be somewhat flamboyant. "So, you see we've been doing this sort of thing for a very long time."

Swanson was looking a little gobsmacked. "When you came in here, I wasn't expecting a history lesson!"

Ianto sighed. "We're investigating this crime, which may or may not have anything to do with Torchwood. I thought you might want to know a bit more about us in order to gain a bit of context."

"Sure, you're right. But I'm sure there's a lot you can't say."

"There is, yes, although if it were entirely up to me, you'd know it all. I trust you, Kathy."

She looked pleased by that. "So, just tell me what you can. Though don't think I missed that whole 'outside threat and other phantasmagoria' bit. That just plays into more of the rumors I've heard, and a lot of the coppers here have lived in Cardiff most of their lives, and probably know even more."

"Torchwood _is _the worst-kept secret in Cardiff." Ianto rolled his eyes. Many of the locals had been affected by the Rift in subtle ways, and Jack once said that that sort of tampering would have long-term effects.

Swanson laughed. "Well, we know it exists…just not what it does exactly."

"What we do would frighten most normal human beings into lifelong nightmares. And please don't think I'm exaggerating. I'm not."

The detective didn't say anything; she looked like she was digesting that, and finding it unpalatable. "So…about these murders…?" she asked, changing the subject.

Ianto respected her even more for not prying. "As of right now, we're trying to find out if the victims had anything in common. I'm going to need to get access to the crime scenes, to look around myself."

"You usually don't ask."

"No...the _captain_ usually doesn't ask. But, this time, he and I actually agree that it would be better to work with you as much as we can, rather than pissing off the entire Cardiff constabulary."

"I think I should mark the calendar…"

He sighed. "This is really the first time that I know of that our purposes are the same, Detective. While I appreciate your frustration with Captain Harkness, we really need to be able to work together to keep anyone else from dying."

Swanson looked suitably chastised. "Fine. I'll have Davidson get you access to both victims' properties. Anything else?"

"I think it's safe to say that your people are trying to figure out what that substance in the killer's hair was."

"Of course we are," she snorted. "Did you really think I'd give up that area of investigation?"

"No, but I was hoping you'd let us work on it."

Her features changed. "You know what it is, don't you?" She narrowed her eyes. "Is that the reason you gave me that bit of history lesson? Because it has something to do with you lot?"

Ianto had known that Swanson was just that good. "In a way," he admitted. "Yes, we do know what that substance is. Its scientific name is B67; we call it Retcon."

"So it's not something new out there on the streets?" When Ianto shook his head, she sighed. "I don't know if I should be relieved by that, or not. So…just what is this Retcon? And what does it have to do with Torchwood? Because I know it has to, so don't bother denying it."

"I wasn't about to," the dragon answered calmly, not wanting to sound defensive. "Retcon was developed by Torchwood One. It's an amnesia pill; taking it wipes selective memories and allows the implantation of false ones."

"Wait." Swanson held up a hand to stop any further words, disbelief written all over her face. "You're telling me, you actually control peoples' memories?" Disbelief was replaced by anger. "What gives you the bloody right to do something like that?"

"Detective," Ianto said, letting her fury roll over him, "it's only for last resort. There are things out there that people just aren't ready to cope with. Knowing certain things would either drive them insane or to hurt themselves or others. Would you rather we let a person who isn't capable of dealing with the horrific just walk off and throw themselves into the bay? Or be sectioned up at Providence Park? Helping them forget is the best way, believe me."

Her anger seemed to dissipate, just a little. "Have you ever used it on my coppers?" she demanded.

Once again, Ianto was impressed; Swanson was more worried about her constables, and not herself. "Yes," he answered, deciding on truthfulness. "According to our records, we've had to Retcon three of your people. One of those men had been in a very traumatic situation that absolutely warranted it. If we hadn't, he wouldn't be here today. The other two…saw something they shouldn't have. There was no choice."

"And you've done this to the entire city?"

"Gods and goddesses, no. As I said…only as a last resort."

"Okay. Let's say I even begin to understand what you're saying. But, our killer had this in his hair. Why? What had he seen that made it a last resort for him?"

"We don't know," Ianto confessed. "We can estimate the time of dosage from that hair, and then see if there was anyone in our records at that time. The problem is, there have been situations when we've distributed Retcon, but there were no records. Usually this means we were caught completely off-guard, and needed to use it without being able to take the time to make an adequate note of it."

"Can someone counteract the effects of this stuff?"

"Certainly. Objects can trigger the buried memories and bring them back to the surface. It has to be a specific trigger object, however."

"Could our killer have remembered whatever it was that you had to drug him up for? That's why he's writing 'Torchwood' all over his crime scenes?"

"That's entirely possible. It's one idea we're looking in to. But we can't jump to conclusions without proof."

Swanson rolled her eyes at that. "Please. I'm a cop. I know all about evidence and due process."

Ianto smiled at her. "I know, Detective."

"So, why tell me about this Retcon stuff?" she asked, examining him closely. "You could have just hid this from me. You didn't have to share all that."

"I know. But I also knew you wouldn't let things go, especially if you thought this was some sort of drug-related killing. You're an intelligent person, Detective. I think you would have tried to figure it out, and come to the wrong conclusion since you don't have the information we do. And, I'm just selfish enough not to want to lose a friend, and that would have happened if you'd thought these murders were overtly connected to Torchwood, instead of possibly being something completely different."

"And what do you think?" she pressed. "What do you think all of this means?"

The dragon shrugged. "I have no idea. I don't even want to guess. But I do know I want you on our side, and being honest is the best way to convince you we're innocent in this, no matter what we find out."

"You're right. Any more secrets would've made you look even worse." She sighed. "All right. I might not like this Retcon shit you guys created, but I can see why it would be used. I'll shut down the testing of what we got from that hair. And I'll get Davidson to give you access to the victims' homes. But you _will_ keep me in the loop, as much as you can. I want to catch this son of a bitch just as much as you guys do." She stood. "And, I think you owe me a bit more of this Torchwood history at some point. I'm not an idiot; I can guess a lot of it. But it's more than I really thought, and I have to admit I can almost understand Himself and his sense of entitlement."

"I'll do the best I can," Ianto said, also standing. "There really is more I want to explain, but it can wait. After we get whoever the murderer is, I think I might have to let you in on a few things."


	39. Torchwood Murders Chapter Four

The Torchwood Murders - Chapter Four

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Don't own it, it's not mine.

Author's note: Welcome to the next chapter. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

><p><em><strong>24 November 2007<strong>_

Jack spent a discouraging three hours going through the Retcon store, becoming more and more depressed at what he found.

At a conservative estimate, approximately 300 doses of Retcon were unaccounted for. He'd want someone to verify his findings – most likely Ianto, since his Second would be even more methodical than Jack had been – and then they were going to make some changes in just how Retcon was dispensed. They had to have better procedures; there couldn't be this disparity between their records and the physical inventory any more.

He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He couldn't help but think that, somehow, Suzie had been involved. Certainly, it was all very circumstantial evidence, but it vaguely added up to _something_. The last dose of Retcon given their murderer coincided with Suzie's death. It had to have been someone within the base itself; no one else had access to Retcon since Torchwood London had fallen. Of course, it could have come from the ruins of Canary Wharf, but UNIT had had the place bolted down tightly before Jack's team had gotten there.

And yet, Ianto had managed to smuggle an injured Lisa out…

Jack shook his head. It was different, hiding a person among other people, than from absconding with a store of Retcon from under both UNIT and Torchwood's collective noses. Most of the records salvaged had remained intact, however, thanks to Toshiko and Ianto; and so Jack knew that wherever the Retcon had come from, it hadn't been from what had been left of Torchwood One.

It had to have come from the Hub. That was the only explanation.

And there was only one person he could come up with that fit the admittedly limited criteria they'd managed to put into play.

Jack closed the cupboard door, taking a step back and almost colliding with a rack of various medical instruments. The Retcon store was located in the larger storage area for the autopsy bay, next to the drugs cabinet. Jack found it ironic that they kept that particular door locked always; and yet anyone could get to the Retcon, considering which one could be considered far more dangerous.

He picked up the PDA he'd been using for the inventory, staring at the small screen as if it was personally cursing at him. They were definitely going to have to make the Retcon supply a lot less accessible. Yet another thing he'd talk to Ianto about.

His mind went back to Suzie. What he couldn't fathom was why – if she was the one responsible – she'd felt the need to drug someone over a long period of time. It didn't make sense, unless whoever she was giving it to kept breaking through the memory block somehow…

And then, another thought struck him, and he cursed at the utter simplicity of it.

"Jack!"

The captain cursed again as he jumped at Ianto's voice. He turned; his Second was standing in the doorway, the look on his human face questioning. "Sorry," Jack muttered. "You startled me."

"No, I'm sorry," the dragon said, "but you looked like you'd just bitten into something that tasted horrible."

"Yeah, figuratively, I might have." He ran a hand through his hair, while the other absently tapped the PDA lightly against his leg. He met Ianto's gaze squarely. "Look, we always assumed that Suzie was working alone, killing those people in order to test the glove."

Ianto nodded. "That just made the most sense."

"Well, suppose she wasn't?" Jack pressed. "Suppose she had an accomplice?"

He could see the thought settle itself in Ianto's brain, and the dragon's eyes widened in shock. "Are you thinking that our murderer is this so-called accomplice? And you think Suzie was responsible for our current killer?"

It made sense. Far too much sense, in Jack's opinion, and he said so.

Ianto chewed his thumbnail absently. "It…might work," he said slowly. "Of course, it would beg the question: why did Suzie Retcon her own partner-in-crime?"

It was a good question. "No idea," Jack admitted. "We'd have to find the person first and find out. Maybe she Retconned him after whatever murder she'd done? Or maybe she…created…a perfect accomplice by wiping his memories and planting new ones? It's not something I really want to even consider."

"If you take this a bit further," Ianto replied, "then, if this person knew Suzie was Torchwood, and if they broke the Retcon and discovered what they'd done, then writing 'Torchwood' in blood at the scenes of crime could have been their way of trying to get Suzie's attention." He shook his head. "It boggles the mind, Jack."

"Yeah, it does." Jack really didn't want to think this of Suzie. It was bad enough that the glove had driven her to murder; for her to possibly have involved an innocent made him almost physically ill. "Did you find anything at all at the crime scenes?" What he didn't add was _'something that would exonerate Suzie?_'.

Ianto nodded. "I did. It's a probable connection between all three victims." He reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a yellow paper.

Jack took it. The paper turned out to be some sort of brochure, with the word 'Pilgrim' written on it. He flipped it open, his confusion growing as he read just what Pilgrim was. "And this links our victims?"

"Yes," Ianto answered. "I found that one in Alex Arwyn's glove box. There was a half-full box in a spare room closet at the Briscoe's."

"But why? Why kill people over some metaphysical claptrap?"

The dragon shrugged. "That's the only thing I found. I already have Tosh trying to trace the rest of the group, if there is anyone else."

Jack nodded absently, staring at the brochure as if it held the mysteries of the Universe. He tried to slot this new information into the puzzle that his mind had been putting together…and it didn't fit. He wanted to think this put Suzie in the clear; if he'd known anything about the woman, then it was her complete disregard for anything like what this group was about. She wouldn't have had anything to do with it.

And yet…it was the only thing they'd been able to find that linked the two murders…anything that wasn't Torchwood. Every bit of evidence that did point toward Torchwood, pointed toward Suzie Costello.

"Jack," Ianto cut into his brooding, "I think we should follow up on Suzie. We need to either tie her into this, or exonerate her. And I think we should start with her personal effects."

The captain considered. That made sense. "Who packed up her belongings?"

"Toshiko and I did. We wanted to make sure she hadn't taken anything else out of the Hub."

"Did you find anything?"

Ianto raised an eyebrow at him. "I take it you didn't read the report?" he asked forbiddingly, even though there was a twinkle in his eye that Jack interpreted as the dragon being amused.

He rolled his eyes. "Pretend like I didn't."

That brought out a smirk. "Really, Jack."

"Well, that's why you're here…to give me the highlights of all that boring paperwork."

"And here I thought you hired me for my coffee-making skills."

"There's that, too! And because your ass looks so good in pinstripes."

"Do I have to remind you about the harassment rules?"

Jack leered. "Constantly. Makes me appreciate those Welsh vowels even more."

Ianto sighed, shaking his head, his eyes sparkling.

Jack really wanted to kiss him.

It wasn't just because of how playful Ianto looked in that moment. It was the dragon's brilliant changing of the subject, breaking Jack from his dark mood. It was the very fact that Ianto had known what to do, knew Jack well enough to be able to diffuse what could have been a raging depression. This case seemed to be hitting far too close to home, at the very heart of Jack's family, and Ianto's as well, and yet his Second had taken the chance in making that wise-ass comment in an attempt to make Jack feel better.

And it had worked.

He hadn't even been aware of moving, but suddenly he was standing right in Ianto's personal space. The dragon stood his ground, his ancient eyes meeting Jack's squarely, his pale skin just a bit flushed. "Are you going to harass me some more?" he whispered, his accent thicker than normal.

"Are you going to report me?" Jack asked, equally softly, wanting to take his cue from the being he was so close to. Things were getting so much better between them, and if Ianto didn't want him that near…

"I suppose we can overlook it this time."

It was the answer Jack was looking for.

Goddess, it felt like forever since he'd kissed Ianto, he'd almost forgotten just how warm the dragon's lips were against his, and how well they just seemed to fit together. The slightest pressure from his tongue and Ianto's mouth opened under his, and Jack took him up on the offer, beginning a leisurely exploration of the dragon's human mouth, his hands grasping Ianto's hips as he felt long-fingered hands rest on his shoulders. Ianto's tongue joined Jack's in its exploration, and the immortal moaned softly, pulling Ianto even closer.

The kiss was like coming home. Jack let himself fall into it, and lost track of time as the two melded together, mouths and tongues and hands moving slowly yet passionately until they had no choice but to break away to regain their breath. He pulled back just enough to look at Ianto; the dragon looked back at him, his eyes soft and smiling. "That was…" his voice faded out, as if he couldn't come up with the right word to describe it.

"Yeah," Jack agreed. "Can we do that again?"

"I think I'd like that," Ianto answered, "but I think we have work to do."

Jack sighed. "You're right." He smiled. "Thank you."

The dragon cocked his head to the side in confusion. "For what?"

"Just for being here."

Ianto snorted quietly. "I think you're stuck with me…for as long as you want me."

_Forever_, Jack wanted to answer, but didn't dare. Instead, he said lightly, "You're going to get tired of me."

"I very much doubt it." The dragon took a step back, leaving Jack's embrace reluctantly. "Come on," he said. "We need to get going."

"Yes, duty calls." Jack forced down the disappointment he felt with Ianto's withdrawal. It had felt good to be that close to him once more; Jack had missed it, and he hadn't even realized it until that first touch of lips on lips. He could try to fool himself into believing that Ianto Jones didn't mean all that much to him, but he got the impression that it just wouldn't work anymore.

Jack had to face facts.

He was very much in love with a certain dragon. And there wasn't a damned thing he could do about it.

Not that he'd necessarily want to.

* * *

><p>The life of Suzie Costello filled one of the smaller rooms in the deepest part of the Hub.<p>

Since the beginning, Torchwood had claimed the worldly possessions of their agents once they'd died. Jack really didn't see the point; it certainly meant that they'd run out of space eventually, and he wasn't looking forward to trying to figure out what to do with generations of personal effects. The damp had already ruined a lot of what had been stored there. So many lives and memories lost to the chill and wet and darkness. It would have been so much easier to simply destroy what wasn't important, instead of letting it pile up.

It would have made a difference if anyone actually came down here, to learn about those who'd given their lives for Torchwood. As it was, no one remembered.

It was incredibly sad, really.

Ianto's torch led the way, bobbing and dancing across the walls and floor as they made their way down. Jack didn't like being this far underground; it was almost a superstitious fear, one that he didn't know where it had come from, but one he'd always had and berated himself for. He wasn't supposed to be like this; he was an enlightened 51st century guy, one who was patently _unsuperstitious_. He just didn't have time for this sort of thing.

Jack remembered that there'd been some talk – back before Alex had killed himself and his team – of moving all this stuff into a storage facility somewhere in Splott, but nothing had ever been done. Jack supposed that, having all this mess in a public locker would have been asking for trouble; what if Torchwood forgot to pay the bill?

Or if something had happened to Torchwood itself?

The rattle of keys brought his attention back to the here and now; Ianto had stopped in front of one door, and was inserting a large brass key into the lock, twisting it strongly. The dragon pulled the metal door open, revealing an even inkier darkness within.

"This is all that's left of Suzie's life," Ianto murmured.

He pointed the torch within the room. Boxes lined the walls, and the sharp scent of damp cardboard floated up to tickle Jack's nostrils. "Let's do this," he said, stepping into the cool room. "With respect."

Ianto didn't answer; he simply headed toward one side, and Jack used his own torch and made his way in the opposite direction.

They worked in silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Jack rummaged through his side of the room, taking in what he found, realizing that he hadn't known that much about Suzie after all. She'd apparently loved to read, judging from the sheer amount of books; they all looked well-worn yet taken care of, and it bothered him that, someday, these testaments to Suzie's life outside Torchwood would fall apart under the weight of years and mold, and she would be forgotten.

Then there were pictures. Photos of the team for the most part, but several of an older man that was obviously Suzie's father. Jack frowned; Suzie had wiped her records on her way out, and while Toshiko had tried her hardest to get them back, the woman had been far too thorough. They hadn't been able to inform Suzie's family of her demise. This man would never know that his daughter had been a hero, until madness had claimed her brilliant mind.

"Jack."

He left the box he'd been searching, turning his light onto his second. Ianto stood next to yet another box, holding something that looked disturbingly familiar.

"Shit," Jack breathed, as he saw the word "Pilgrim" emblazoned on the soggy pamphlet in Ianto's hand.


	40. Torchwood Murders  Chapter Five

The Torchwood Murders - Chapter Five

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, I'm just trying to make it a little bit better.

Author's note: I completely forgot to mention last chapter that I changed where they kept the belongings of former Torchwood operatives because I had this thought that, after CoE, that without anyone paying for them all those storage units with all those belongings would have been auctioned off. Which, to me, would have been a complete mess. So, I made it so all those belongings were actually stored in the Hub. Hope no one was confused by that.

And here we go, onto the next chatper!

* * *

><p><em><strong>24 November 2007<strong>_

"What have we got?" Jack asked the team, as they sat around the conference table.

Ianto took a sip of his coffee, knowing this was going to be a long night. It was almost midnight now, and he didn't see any of them getting out of there anytime soon. He glanced around at his teammates: Owen was practically guzzling his coffee in an attempt to get the caffeine into his system faster; Toshiko kept folding and unfolding the corner of a piece of paper that was tucked half under the laptop in front of her; and Gwen stifled a yawn behind her hand. Jack looked ready to go for another twenty-four hours, but then Ianto knew very well that the immortal could go with very little sleep, but when he crashed Jack was down for the count. Ianto himself could just feel the beginnings of tiredness nibbling at his mind, but his dragon constitution meant that he would outlast anyone else at the table, with the exception of their captain.

"Nothing new on the autopsies," Owen began. "All three were killed by a long-bladed knife, single slash across the throat, easily severing both the carotid and the jugular, which meant they bled out, and pretty damned fast, too. DNA comparison with the victims' blood and the blood on the walls confirms it was theirs and not brought in from somewhere else. None of the victims had Retcon in them. Also, dug back into their medical records and found nothing that links them." He sighed. "Sorry, Jack."

"Don't be," Jack said. "You did good work. Gwen?"

The former PC sat up a little straighter. "Nothing in the evidence taken from the scenes can connect the victims. I ran a check on the CCTV, but the camera closest to Alex Arwyn's house has been out for months, so that didn't fly. I did get a few pictures from the one on the Briscoes' street, but without anything to compare them to…" There was something in her voice, a challenge that had Ianto stifling a sigh.

"Fine, Gwen." Jack must have caught it as well, judging from the sudden stiffening of his shoulders. "Toshiko, please tell me you have something."

The technician grinned. "I have something."

Jack returned the grin. "You have made my night."

Toshiko blushed slightly under the praise. "Well, there wasn't anything in their personal backgrounds that linked them. It wasn't until I got to the financials that something interesting showed up." She consulted her laptop. "Both Sarah Briscoe and Alex Arwyn had charges from the same hotel."

Owen leaned forward. "Were they playing undercover rumba then?"

"Nope," Toshiko answered. "The charges were each on a Tuesday, eight weeks apart, and there are charges going back about three years. And they weren't renting a suite…it was a small conference room."

Ianto put it together at the same time as Jack did, if the dragon was reading his expression correctly. "Did you get into the hotel records to check to see who else had paid for that particular room?" he asked.

Toshiko looked mildly offended. "Of course I did. " At Ianto's placating hand gesture, she continued. "There were seven different people, each on a Tuesday, who had charges made for that room. Apparently they had a regular rota." Then a shadow crossed her features. "I…found a name though, one that we're all familiar with."

Owen and Gwen both looked puzzled, but Ianto knew who it was, and his heart fell. He'd been with Jack, in hoping everything was just a big coincidence, even though he didn't really believe in them.

"Suzie Costello," Jack stated.

Toshiko nodded.

"What the hell?" Owen exclaimed. "You're saying Suzie was involved in whatever's going on?"

"It fits," Jack answered. "Our killer was Retconned over a long period of time, only the dosages stopped a couple of months ago. Suzie had access…and she died about the same time the drugging ended. And, Ianto and I found this in her belongings." He pulled the crumpled flyer from his pocket, setting it on the table. "Ianto also found the same brochures at the Briscoes' house and in Arwyn's car."

"There was nothing in the evidence gathered at either scene," Gwen accused.

"I found the Arwyn brochure in his car," Ianto reiterated. "The police hadn't searched it, so they didn't know they had that particular group in common." They did now, though, thanks to PC Andy Davidson. He'd made certain the copper would report to Detective Swanson on what he'd found.

"I checked into this so-called Pilgrim on Ianto's request," Toshiko added. "They're so small they aren't even on the internet. "

"I did find some records in with the brochures in the Briscoes' closet," Ianto put in. "It's a religious support group, more like a debating society actually."

"Suzie? Belonging to some sort of religious group?" Owen scoffed. "That's like saying Harkness is celibate."

"Owen," Jack snapped.

"Well, it's true!"

Ianto sighed. Owen was right, in a way; Jack certainly knew how to have fun, and he knew how to get whatever and whoever he wanted. It was one of the many reasons why getting into any sort of relationship with him could backfire. Their kiss in the storage room earlier might have been a mistake…but the dragon also knew his own feelings, and he knew that he would be completely unable to deny Jack if the immortal wanted to resume their physical relationship. He only hoped that the man's apparent change of heart was permanent. He was willing to give Jack the benefit of the doubt for now.

"But that can't be our Suzie," Owen went on. "She wouldn't go to that support group bollocks."

"How do you know?" Gwen challenged. "I mean, were you friends? Any of you…who was her best friend in this place?"

Everyone at the table bristled under her verbal assault. The dragon wondered what gave her the right to ask that. Certainly, he and Suzie hadn't been close, but he knew for a fact that she and Toshiko had hung out, and of course there was her physical relationship with Owen. "And we have the proof," Ianto cut her off, before she could cause any more damage. "We have the flyer found in her belongings."

"Plus her name in the hotel records," Toshiko added.

"She did usually ask for Tuesdays off," Ianto said, adding one more piece of the puzzle.

"There's one way of finding out for certain," Gwen said.

Ianto stared at her, knowing immediately what she was going to suggest. It angered him; Jack had made it perfectly clear that the glove was not to be used for any reason, and yet she was about to say it once more.

Jack apparently knew it, as well. "I said we weren't using the glove, Gwen. Don't you dare suggest it again."

"But Jack – "

"Jack said no," Ianto snapped. "His orders apply to you, too."

Gwen glared at him. "We have a tool that can solve these crimes; why aren't we using it?"

"We told you why," Jack answered angrily.

"Besides," Owen put in, "according to Suzie's own research, the fresher the kill the better the results. She's been dead too long for it to work."

"Don't bring it up again, Gwen," Jack ordered. "We will not be using the glove, now or never."

The woman crossed her arms, her eyes narrowed in anger. But she didn't say anything else about the glove, which was a good thing. If she had, Ianto would have Retconned her himself, and it wouldn't have mattered if Jack had objected.

Ianto was glad that Jack wasn't pandering to her anymore; he'd been convinced that Jack had hired her in order to get her into bed. The captain's own behavior had only reinforced that notion, with his putting her before the rest of the team, and the rather more intense than usual flirting. But, ever since what had happened with Lisa, Jack had been more willing to see Gwen's faults and not praise her for something that no one else on the team could see…this so-called humanity. It made Ianto wonder just what had happened to change his view of her.

Their own relationship had done nothing but improve after the mess with the Fae. Ianto was actually allowing himself to hope that they'd turned some sort of corner, and that Jack would be more willing to open up to him. After all, he'd told Ianto about the Doctor, and about waiting for over one hundred years to get answers as to why he couldn't die. And, while Ianto didn't want Jack to leave when the Time Lord did show up, a part of him could understand it.

And Jack had promised to come back. To Ianto, that meant something.

Yes, it would be one more time that Ianto's heart would be broken. But he didn't want to think about that. He hoped that his own killing of Lisa would have broken that curse; yes, that had been the second time, but Ianto had made that decision himself, and had broken his own heart. The only consideration that had come into it had been the saving of the team and of any innocent people Lisa would have taken out her insanity on. He could only hope that his actions that night had broken the cycle that the Tarot girl had foretold.

"So, why is this killer going after these Pilgrim people?" Owen asked, bringing Ianto back into the meeting and away from his thoughts.

Jack met Ianto's gaze, and the dragon could see that he was trying to get a silent opinion on what to share. Their conversation in the storage room rang in Ianto's mind, and while he didn't want to think that Jack was right…he nodded slightly, acquiescing to the notion.

The captain sighed. "We think – "

"We?" Gwen interrupted.

He glared at her. "Ianto and I," he clarified, "think this killer could have been Suzie's accomplice in her own murder spree."

Ianto watched their reactions. Toshiko's eyes went wide, while Owen cursed a blue streak. Gwen simply sat there, but the look in her eyes said that she was fully expecting them to take her suggestion about using the glove now.

She was going to be disappointed.

"You think she Retconned her own accomplice?" Toshiko asked.

"It makes fucking sense," Owen spat. "You think whoever this has broke the memory block, don't you?"

Jack nodded. "It's a possibility, yes. And these murders are an attempt to get Suzie's attention."

"The only way that's gonna happen is if any of the victims meet her in hell," the medic growled.

"Toshiko." Jack turned to their technician. "I want you to get on those other members of Pilgrim. We need photos of them, personal information…anything you can dig up."

An idea suddenly hit Ianto. "Jack, can we also assume that the killer is also someone involved in Pilgrim?"

"I think so," Jack answered slowly considering the question. "Yes. It would make sense that he has some knowledge of Pilgrim and its members."

"Is that why Suzie joined them?" Owen asked. "To find someone to help her test that fucking glove?"

"I don't think we'll ever know her motivations," Jack said. "At this point, all we can do is guess. We know the glove pretty much took her over, and I have to live with that knowledge."

"You couldn't have known," Toshiko said. "And we all didn't see how it was affecting her."

"Hell, I was shagging her," Owen snorted. "If anyone should've seen it, it was me."

Gwen looked shocked at that little piece of information. _Big surprise_.

Ianto felt the same way as the others; he'd warned Jack that there was something off about the glove, but had agreed with the testing. "It's no one's fault," he added. "All we can do is pick up the pieces."

"Right," Jack agreed. "And our first step should be to track down the remaining members of Pilgrim." He turned back to Toshiko. "Did you happen to notice if that room had been reserved this coming Tuesday?"

She shook her head. "Not yet. But, if the rota stays the same, it would have been Alex Arwyn's turn next week."

"They're gonna be surprised to show up and see that he hasn't made their usual reservation," Owen snarked.

"I think our next step," Jack said, "is to get any and all information we can on the others who've rented that room and track them down. Just because the police have found three victims, doesn't mean there might not be more out there we don't know about. I'd normally say we wait for the next meeting and beard them in their lair, so to speak, but I don't think we have the time to do that."

"You're right," Gwen put in. "Our killer has struck three times on consecutive nights, so we shouldn't be surprised if he does again before we can track him down." She sounded vaguely accusatory.

"Detective Swanson is already aware of that," Ianto answered, more harshly than might have been strictly necessary. "She has almost all the same information that we do, and her people are following their own set of leads. I think we can trust the constabulary to run down anything that could prove useful to this case. It sounds to me, Gwen, that you don't trust the very people you used to work with."

The former PC stared at him angrily. "I never said that," she snapped. "But this is now obviously a Torchwood matter, and the local police don't have the training to deal with that."

"We're dealing with a murderer, Gwen," Ianto replied. "Police are, indeed, trained to deal with such things. Our killer isn't an alien, or under some form of alien control. If it weren't for the Retcon and Suzie's involvement I would have suggested that they handle it themselves. They are perfectly capable."

"Torchwood caused this! I can't believe you'd just let it lie!"

Ianto could feel the eyes of his teammates on him, but it wasn't in any form of condemnation. "I beg to differ. Torchwood didn't cause this; it was caused by a mentally ill woman who was affected by her time in Torchwood. Yes, Jack may feel responsible for Suzie going insane – and he really shouldn't – but these killings have been caused by one person: Suzie Costello. If she weren't in Torchwood we wouldn't be having this discussion."

"And even if this killer was random," Toshiko added, "Torchwood is the worst-kept secret in Cardiff. Up until we had confirmation of the Retcon and of Suzie being involved it could easily have been someone wanting to make us look bad."

"I never heard of Torchwood until that night with the glove," Gwen denied, her face going red.

"That's not our concern," Jack jumped back in. "What is, is that we do need to find this killer before someone else dies. And, as far as I'm concerned, after we get him the local police can have him…that is, unless he knows more about Torchwood than he should. If that's the case, then we tuck him away in Providence Park for the rest of his natural life. Now, we have work to do. Get to it."

Ianto stood, his eyes meeting Gwen's across the table. He got the distinct impression that he hadn't heard the last from the fiery woman.


	41. Torchwood Murders Chapter Six

The Torchwood Murders - Chapter Six

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, and for that I'm sorry.

Author's note: Here's the next chapter. Just a warning...there's a little bit of smut-like stuff at the end of this chapter. Hope you like it!

* * *

><p><em><strong>25 November 2007<strong>_

It was well after midnight before Toshiko managed to dig up addresses and information on the other members of Pilgrim, and that was with Ianto helping her.

Jack had sent Gwen home; he could only deal with her belligerent morality so much, and he didn't want to say something he'd regret later. While she hadn't brought the subject of the glove up again, he could tell that she wanted to, and finding her standing in front of the door to the Secure Archives was just a bit too much. He knew she'd never be able to get inside – only he and Ianto had the codes – but it was the very notion that she might actually _try_ to do something that irritated him more. A part of him almost wished that she had, but it wasn't as if he needed a valid reason to Retcon her if he chose.

Gwen had argued about leaving during an active investigation, but Jack had insisted, telling her to go home to Rhys. He had no idea if she and Owen were still shagging, but he suspected they were, and that bothered him more than he cared to admit. Normally, he would have kept his nose out of his team's assignations, but one of the reasons he'd hired Gwen was that she was normal, that she had a relationship outside Torchwood. That made her almost a pioneer in that respect, and had hoped that having someone waiting for her at home would ground her. Besides, while he did talk a big game, at the end of the day Jack Harkness respected partnerships in all their forms. He would never even think about coming between people who were committed to each other.

Which was why he'd been so surprised to hear how his team had seen his 'flirting' with Gwen. He hadn't considered the impression it gave, since he flirted with everyone. But, ever since that night in his office when Toshiko had called him down on his behavior, Jack had thought back on it all and come to the conclusion that he'd been a bit more brazen with his innuendo around Gwen than he'd thought.

Even Ianto had thought that Jack had hired Gwen to take her to his bed. That had hurt more than anything, but he'd brought it on himself. And then there was this card reading that Ianto had gotten, where that girl had foretold that Jack would break Ianto's heart four times…Jack didn't want to think he could do something like that to the dragon. And yet, he had.

Well, Jack would just have to make it up, and to somehow avoid the other two times. Although, he suspected that one of those would be his leaving with the Doctor.

The immortal hoped that Ianto believed him when he said he'd come back. Because he would. He would do whatever was in his power to return to the dragon.

The dragon that he'd somehow fallen in love with.

Jack sighed. He looked out over the Hub from his office, watching as Ianto and Toshiko worked closely together. He'd also sent Owen off, and he hoped that the medic and Gwen weren't meeting up right then.

"Jack," Toshiko called out, turning to look in his direction.

He left his office, striding toward his tech's work station. Toshiko looked tired, but there had been no way she would have left before her given task was done. "Whatcha got?"

"I have all the information you wanted," she reported, then favored the dragon with a smile. "With Ianto's help, of course." Ianto smiled back.

"Well done, the two of you." Jack felt a warm glow of pride in these two; they always rose to the challenge, and he didn't know what he'd do without them. That was when it struck him, that he'd told Gwen that she was replaceable, but that wasn't the case with Ianto, Toshiko, and Owen. Those three carried Torchwood on their backs; they made certain everything ran at top efficiency. Gwen didn't; she really didn't have a place there, despite Jack's own assurance to the others that she did. But he was quickly coming to the conclusion that he'd been so enamored of having someone who reminded him so much of Rose Tyler on the team that it had overridden his common sense.

"We should have no trouble tracing the members of Pilgrim who paid their share on that room," Ianto added.

"Which we will do," Jack said, "tomorrow. Or maybe I should say later today, if my watch is correct. Toshiko, you all right to get home?"

She nodded. "I'm fine, Jack."

"Then out you get. We'll have our work cut out for us and I want us all fresh." He turned to his Second. "Ianto – "

"I think I'll just go down to my hoard room," the dragon cut him off smoothly. "I can rest there just as easily as I could at home."

Jack was a little surprised; ever since Lisa, Ianto hadn't really spent a lot of time down there. "All right, but I do expect you to rest."

Ianto rolled his eyes. "Oh, Tad," he answered, sounding just like a stroppy child who'd just been told to go to bed because it was a school night.

"Oi, that's enough out of you," Jack scolded, causing Toshiko to laugh.

"Good night you two," she chuckled, putting on her coat and grabbing up her laptop case.

"Good night, Toshiko," both Jack and Ianto chorused as she left through the cog door.

"Come on," Jack said, "let's get this place shut down."

Together the two moved about the Hub, setting everything for night mode. They worked quietly, and Jack simply enjoyed the companionship. How could he have ever taken this for granted? And yet he had, to his shame. Just the dragon's presence was enough to make the immortal content. Goddess, he'd wasted so much time…

They finished in silence. Ianto turned to look at Jack, a soft smile on his face. "Would you…like to come and sleep with me?"

To anyone else, Jack knew that would have been an invitation to sex. But with Ianto, it meant just that…sleeping together. Jack should have been disappointed, but this was Ianto Jones, and just resting beside the dragon's warm body was good enough. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

Jack accompanied the dragon down into the depths of the Hub, to the door that opened onto the dragon's hoard. He'd been down there many times, but not since Ianto had locked him in during the affair with Lisa. The moment he entered he noticed a difference: something in the atmosphere, something he couldn't identify. Ianto had obviously been down there more than Jack had thought; he could tell that some of the precious items had been moved around, there were more pillows and quilts on the stone floor…and in each corner, a tall wooden post stood propped up against the wall, with what looked like carvings on them.

He found himself drawn to the post closest to him. It was made from what looked like oak, and the swirls and sigils cut into it were still as sharp as if they'd just been carved, even though Jack could tell it was very old. He reached out a tentative hand to touch it, then withdrew before his fingers got too close.

"That is one of the posts that my family carved in celebration of my sister's mating," Ianto's soft voice sounded behind him. "I and my father made them."

Jack turned; the dragon was laying on the pillows, his slitted eyes staring at Jack as if trying to see into his soul. He could see the sadness in them, and the immortal could sympathize with the dragon. "How old were you?" he asked quietly, turning back to look at the post.

"Still a child by dragon standards," he chuckled. "I was a whole four hundred and two." His voice turned sad once more. "I remember my mother saying she was looking forward to my mating day."

He turned back, meeting those old eyes once more. He wasn't even aware that he'd moved, until he was standing next to the dragon, his arm looped over his neck in comfort. "I'm sorry."

"No need to be. I've long accepted it."

"But you still dream of your mate. Maybe one day…"

"No, Jack. I'm the last. There are no more. That vision was a lie."

Jack would have been angry at having believed something that had turned out to be false, but the dragon simply sounded resigned. He remembered what he'd heard, the day they'd realized that Toshiko was being controlled by that pendant, and a small flush of happiness went through him, knowing that he could make the dragon feel better. "That day must have been beautiful, though," he said, wanting Ianto to focus on the happy memories instead of the bad.

"It was," the dragon reminisced. "My father was so proud. Marcus was a red dragon, and a centurion in the Roman Army, even though he'd planned on deserting after the mating since he didn't want to be recalled to Rome. Marcus was a good dragon, and he loved my sister dearly. Did you know dragons mate for eternity?"

"No, I didn't."

"We do. I can still remember the priest as he said the vows, and Sabrina and Marcus repeated them. And then, we sang…but it was the Earth Dragon's song, and not the one we'd prepared. That's when I had my first vision of what was supposed to have been my future mate. I told my parents and my father said he'd be welcomed into the family."

Jack settled down at the dragon's side, feeling the warmth of his inner fire sinking through his clothes and into his skin. He wondered how Ianto's parents would have thought of knowing their son had taken a human as a lover, but didn't ask that question. Instead, he inquired, "What were the posts for?"

"They were used to call the Great Dragons," Ianto explained. "There are four Great Dragons, each for a corner of the world: Fire, Air, Water, and the most powerful of them all, Earth. These spirits would come and bless the mating, and were called to the circle by a priest. Carving those posts is a ceremony for the families of the two who are to be mated. I remember though that Marcus didn't have any family left, since they'd died at Pompeii, so it was left to us."

"But these…spirits. What are they?" Jack wanted to understand, to know this piece of the dragon's culture. There was so much he didn't know, that made Ianto the way he was, and Jack was fully aware of how his scoffing attitude would have hurt the dragon's feelings. He didn't want to be that way anymore. He wanted to know, so he wouldn't fall into the trap of denigrating what dragons found sacred.

"It's said, that back at the beginning of our race, four Great Dragons came and raised us out of barbarism and taught us how to be real dragons. Their spirits remain behind to watch over us."

Once again, Jack wondered if some sort of alien race had interfered with the development of Ianto's people. It certainly sounded it, from this story. But he didn't mention it, not wanting to infer something he had no proof of, or to anger the dragon by thinking Jack was somehow disparaging his beliefs. "The mating sounds wonderful," he murmured. "I wish I could have seen it."

"I wish you could have, too. I think my father would have liked you, and you him. Although I would've had to warn you about flirting with my sister, since Marcus wasn't simply red in color." The dragon's voice held laughter, and Jack was glad the melancholy had faded.

"Gotcha." Jack couldn't help but smile. "Now, we both have a busy day ahead of us. Why don't you try to get some sleep?"

"Only if you do the same."

"I'll try." Truth be told, while Jack didn't really need a lot of sleep, he rested much better in Ianto's presence.

The dragon shifted slightly, curling his head up under his wing, so that his snout was facing in Jack's direction. Wise blue eyes met Jack's, and the dragon said, "Good night."

"Good night," Jack returned, watching those eyes close. His own did the same, his body practically cuddled into the dragon's side, taking comfort from the large body under his head.

* * *

><p><em>He was standing beside a lake that looked familiar, surrounded by his loved ones as he waited for his mate to arrive. He was nervous, but also excited; this was a day he'd long looked forward to, the day he'd become mated to the one he would spend eternity with.<em>

_And there he was, in his ephemeral form, dressed in charcoal gray and blue. He was smiling, love shining from his blue eyes as his attendant escorted him to the prepared circle, marked out by four large, engraved posts. _

_A woman – the priestess overseeing the ceremony – stepped into the circle. "Are the two who wish to become mated with us today?"_

_Excitement thrummed through him as he and his new mate made their presence known, stepping into the circle. As he did so, he could feel the change coming over him, and he flexed his wings as they unfurled at his back. His mate was the same, his dragon form glittering in the thin shaft of sunlight that had appeared over the mountains. _

_The power of the circle pressed in on him, but he welcomed it, as the human priestess made the call of the Great Dragons. Incantations as old as time where spoken, and they appeared, one after the other, to bless the union. _

_But the Earth Dragon was the most powerful, and the song that it sang was of dark places and growth and fertility, and of all Life itself. That song echoed through his very bones, as the ceremony was completed, and he was bound for eternity to the dragon at his side. _

_Together, they launched themselves into the air, to meet the rising sun._

_Green and blue-gray chased each other, urging themselves onward into the sky, and his cry echoed over the valley as they rose higher and higher, eventually so far up that the blue of the sky changed to indigo, and he called to his mate as he reached out, and his mate joined with him in the song of eternity, their bodies winding into one, their mutual arousal of the mating flight overcoming all other impulses. _

_As they wrapped themselves around each other, gravity took over, and they began to fall. It didn't matter; he was caught up with his mate, and he gave up control with the ultimate trust of a soulmate. His mate took him as they plummeted downward, and they screamed out their orgasm to the heavens…_

Jack awoke suddenly, his conscious mind chasing the dream even as he'd chased the green dragon through the sky. His clothes felt constrictive, and his trousers were damp from the orgasm that had awakened him.

The dragon's even breathing told him that he hadn't disturbed Ianto. Jack shifted carefully, really wanting to talk to Ianto about what he'd dreamed, but he stopped himself. It was silly, more than likely just an effect of the story the dragon had told him, and nothing more.

But it seemed so very real. He could still feel the wind rushing through his non-existent wings, and his body was telling him that he'd just had really good sex. He sighed, a really big part of him wishing it had been real, wanting to experience a true dragon mating…with Ianto.

Jack shivered, and then rose. He needed to get out of his soiled clothing.

As he stood, he glanced toward the post resting in the corner closest to him.

It was glowing.


	42. Torchwood Murders Chapter Seven

The Torchwood Murders - Chapter Seven

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, sorry...

Author's note: Thansk to everyone who read and alerted and reviewed last chapter. Glad you liked it! Here's the next one...

* * *

><p><em><strong>25 November 2007<strong>_

The dragon snapped awake, immediately noticing that Jack had left his side. He raised his head, trying to find the immortal, hoping that he hadn't left the hoard room.

It had taken a lot of courage on Ianto's part to invite Jack to rest with him. Yes, it had happened several times since their return from the Brecon Beacons, but this had felt different from those nights. Perhaps it had been the kiss that they'd shared, or something else that the dragon wasn't aware of, but having Jack in with him had felt intimate in ways that he couldn't name.

He found Jack almost immediately. He was standing in front of the Earth Dragon's totem, his arm raised as he pushed buttons on his Vortex Manipulator. Even though Jack had his back to him, the dragon could tell the man was tense, his shoulders and back stiff. "What is it?" he asked quietly, not wanting to startle him.

Jack spun. He looked disheveled; his braces where hanging low on his hips, his shirt pulled out of his trousers. The dragon was more surprised by the actual condition of those trousers, and was circumspect enough not to let his gaze linger on the obvious dampness there. "Those posts…you said they were from your sister's mating ceremony?"

"That's right." The dragon frowned, confused by the question.

"And there isn't anything alien at all in them?" Jack sounded almost accusatory.

"No, there isn't. My father and I cut them ourselves. Jack…what's going on?"

Jack snapped the cover of his Manipulator closed. "I…woke up, and it was glowing."

"That's not possible!"

"I'm not making it up – "

"And I don't think you are. But I swear to you: all four posts are simply carved oak. They were used once, and that was all."

"You also said they were used to call your Great Dragons."

"I did, yes." He looked at Jack, whose expression was almost…spooked. "I don't pretend to understand what goes into calling the Dragons, but I can promise you that any magic that might have once been within them would have been used in the actual ceremony. And even then, it wasn't the posts themselves that held the power; it was the priest himself."

It was a testament to Jack's preoccupation that he didn't even seem to notice the dragon's use of the word 'magic'. "What about anything about them reacting to the Rift?"

He considered the question. The dragon's thoughts went back to him and his father's conversation about the posts as they were carving them in preparation for Sabrina's mating. "Nothing that I know of. My father told me that they were really simply anchors for the Dragons to appear. The symbols on them helped with that, and were specific for each of the Great Dragons. They, themselves, didn't carry any sort of power."

"If they're anchors," Jack said, "could they be somehow anchoring the Rift energy as well?"

That was something he hadn't considered. "I suppose it might be possible," the dragon answered slowly. "As I said, I don't know what goes into the actual Calling." His mind once again turned back, to the gathering all those centuries ago. "I remember the words of the invocation, though."

"What are they?"

The dragon really wanted to know why Jack had asked, but he kept his question to himself. "First, there was the call to the Fire Dragon. It went: 'I call upon the Dragon of Fire, who keeps the soul of the Earth burning brightly between his mighty claws, bless this mating with the warmth of comfort and love'."

As he said the words, a shiver seemed to ruffle his scales, and he craned his head around to look at the post that had been for the Fire Dragon…

But nothing was happening. It simply stood there, unchanged.

Jack looked surprised. "What else?" he prompted.

"Well, then there was the Air Dragon: 'I call upon the Dragon of Air, who keeps the breath of the Earth flowing from her great wings, bless this mating with the breeze of laughter and understanding."

A loud noise caused both dragon and man to spin around. One of the many books that he'd collected throughout the centuries had fallen off its shelf, and had landed on the floor. But, like the first, this post also stayed the same.

"Something's happening," Jack murmured, a confused expression on his face. There was also something else that he couldn't identify.

"The Dragons aren't coming," the dragon averred. "But you're right. I'm not saying the rest of the invocation."

"Yeah. Not until we can do it under controlled testing. I want every instrument we have to be scanning."

The dragon had to agree. He hadn't even considered that these relics of a happier time could do anything other than bring up memories for him. "I would never have brought them here if I'd known they'd be affected in some way." He hoped that Jack didn't think he'd done it on purpose; they were just getting back to their old levels of trust, and he didn't want to endanger that.

"I know." The confused look had changed into something soft, and it made the dragon's heart skip a beat to see it. "But I think sleeping down here…I don't know." Jack shook his head.

The dragon got the distinct impression that Jack was bothered by something. "Are you all right?" he asked gently.

Jack nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You must have had a really good dream," he teased, wanting to bring the captain out of the mood he was apparently in.

Jack actually blushed…which surprised the dragon. He would have thought having a wet dream like that would have been something to brag about. "I…yeah, I guess you could say it was." Was there a hint of disappointment in Jack's voice? "It was what woke me up."

"Are you sure you're all right?"

The question brought out a chuckle. "Yeah. It's just been…well, I can't remember the last time I came in my trousers like a teenager. Probably _was_ a teenager, to be honest."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about. It happens to everyone." He wondered just what – or better yet, whom – Jack had been dreaming about. A tiny bit of jealousy flared within him, and he tamped it back down ruthlessly. He had no right to be jealous, it wasn't as if they were mated…

"It's just…" Jack looked positively conflicted, running his hand through his sleep-tousled hair.

"What is it?" He didn't want to pry, but he got the feeling that Jack really wanted to tell him something. "You know you can tell me anything."

Jack took a deep breath. "It was the dream. It…just wasn't about sex. And, when I woke up, and I saw the post…well, shit." He physically shook himself. "Look, I want to change my trousers, they're chafing a bit. How about we go up to my office and I'll explain? And maybe I could convince you to work some coffee magic?" He pouted prettily, and it was an expression the dragon couldn't resist.

"Certainly." He triggered his transformation, changing back into Ianto Jones, a grin on his face. Jack only believed in one sort of magic, it seemed.

But the grin vanished quickly, as he considered just how disturbed Jack seemed to be. That dream had bothered him, despite the evidence of just how pleasurable it had been.

Ianto was looking forward to hearing what it was. And yet, he wasn't.

* * *

><p>By the time the coffee was done, Jack had changed and was seated at his desk. Ianto entered the office with their two mugs, handing one to the immortal while he took the other and sat in the chair opposite. Jack looked lost in thought, although he smiled and accepted the coffee.<p>

The dragon waited for Jack to begin. Pushing him wasn't the way to get him to open up, which was why Gwen would never be the confidante she thought she was. Ianto knew it was close to four in the morning, and he was willing to sit patiently for as long as it took. He sipped his coffee, and the quiet spun out between them, and yet it was a very comfortable silence.

Ianto had drunk about half his coffee when Jack set his own cup down. He leaned his elbows on the desk's blotter, steepling his fingers and looking at Ianto expectantly. "Can I ask…did you dream anything tonight? Anything at all?"

He considered the question seriously, although he had no idea what Jack was getting at. "No, I didn't, which surprises me. Why do you ask?"

Jack suddenly looked uncertain. "Then I can't claim we telepathically shared the same dream."

Ianto frowned. "What are you talking about?" He was concerned; while he'd seen the captain tentative before, there was almost something…well, _delicate_, in the way he was acting. "What happened?"

"I…" He shook his head. "I dreamed I was a dragon." The way he said it, it came out in a breathless rush.

The dragon's eyebrows went up. "You what?" he asked, for sheer clarity. Jack couldn't possibly have just said…

"I dreamed I was a dragon," the immortal repeated. "A blue-gray dragon, in fact."

Coffee would have ended up all over the floor if Ianto hadn't had better reflexes. His heart was racing so fast he couldn't breathe.

_Jack had dreamed he was a blue-gray dragon_.

Of course, Ianto had told Jack about his dream, and about the vision that he'd had of his long-lost mate. He could feel the blood drain from his face as he stared at Jack, who was looking just as shocked.

Before he could register it, Jack had left his chair, and was kneeling in front of the dragon, taking the coffee mug away and setting it on the desk. Then he took Ianto's hands in his, squeezing gently. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I didn't know it would upset you so much, or else I wouldn't have said anything."

"No, it's fine," Ianto assured him, trying to smile and not making a good job of it. What was Jack doing, dreaming of his dragon-mate?

No…what was Jack doing dreaming he _was_ his dragon-mate?

Ianto couldn't believe it. It was too bizarre for words. What had meant to be a restful night had turned into one for surprises.

And what was this about? He couldn't think. All he could do was stare at Jack, and wonder just what this meant. "Tell me?" he whispered.

Jack nodded. "It was…a mating, I'm pretty sure. In fact, you kinda confirmed it when you started quoting your sister's ceremony, because the priestess in the dream said those words – "

"Priestess?" There were no more priests and priestesses who knew of the old rituals.

"Yeah. Pretty woman, dark hair. But she called us into the circle – "

"Us?" Ianto ignored the squeak in his voice.

Jack nodded. "We were both there. When we entered the circle, we both…changed. I was a dragon, Ianto." He stared up into the dragon's eyes, as if begging him to believe him.

Ianto nodded, and Jack took that as acknowledgment and continued. As he spoke, he described the ceremony, and Ianto had no idea how Jack could even know about what occurred with dragon matings, because he hadn't gone into all that much detail, considering it personal. But Jack was describing it perfectly, and he didn't want to hope but he couldn't help it…

He'd wanted Jack to be his mate for a long time. But he'd known it wasn't possible, because Jack wasn't a dragon. There could be no real mating, despite any feelings to the contrary. He wasn't even sure that Jack would even consider it, if it was possible.

When Jack finished with the mating flight, Ianto had gone from surprise to disappointment. Their mating could never be; Jack wasn't a dragon, there would never be that joining that would last for all eternity. No songs for them; no flight for them. No calling the Great Dragons, despite what had happened down in the hoard room.

Jack must have been able to tell that Ianto was upset, because he sat forward and wrapped the dragon into a hug. "I'm sorry," he murmured in Ianto's ear.

Ianto clutched at him. "It's fine," he answered softly. "It just strikes me just how alone I am. I'll be all right."

Eventually Jack pulled back, looking at him closely. "But we have to ask the question," he said. "Why did I dream that? Why did I dream that we were mated? I'm not a dragon, and while you haven't really said anything, I guess it's impossible for dragons to mate with a human…"

He nodded, even as his mind began working on what Jack was saying. "You've never had that sort of dream before?"

"No, never. Now, I'm not going to lie…I have had highly erotic dreams about me being with you while you're in your dragon form…" The leer that accompanied that confession made Ianto laugh. "But I've never once even considered that sort of thing."

Ianto's eyes narrowed, his mind adding up a few things. "You think it has something to do with the post, don't you?"

Jack shrugged. "I can't deny that the dream and what happened did coincide. And you know how I feel about coincidences."

Ianto felt the same way. But he just couldn't understand why it was happening now. Well, whatever it was. "So, we really need to find out what happened down there."

"We do." Jack stood. "But it can wait until after we finish our current investigation. Then, I want every instrument we have down there, to see if we can find something."

"I agree." Ianto really wanted to know. He had no idea why Jack would be having the same dream that he'd had for so long.

He couldn't help it; a very tiny kernel of hope had bloomed within him, that – in some strange way – he and Jack could somehow have a true dragon mating. That, someday, he'd have the certainty of never being alone again.


	43. Torchwood Murders Chapter Eight

The Torchwood Murders - Chapter Eight

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, sorry...

Author's note: Here is another chapter. Thanks to everyone reading and revewing, and all those alerts! I appreciate them, I really do.

* * *

><p><em><strong>25 November 2007<strong>_

"All right," Jack said, staring at each member of his team as they sat around the boardroom table, "Toshiko has got us pictures of the people who paid for the hotel room. Gwen," he turned to the former PC, who was sitting on his left, still looking a bit belligerent that morning, "I want you to run facial recognition software on the CCTV hits you got from the Briscoe's neighborhood camera. If we're lucky, we can get a lead quickly. Tosh," he glanced at his technician, "did you have any luck with the hotel's CCTV?"

She shook her head. "It's on an old VHS system, and it looks like they recycle the tapes every 48 hours."

That was a shame, but they'd just have to roll with it. "Then I want you and Ianto to go and question the manager. Find out everything you can about Pilgrim; if they've been renting the same room for years then you can bet management knows something about them that they might be willing to share."

Toshiko nodded, as did Ianto who was seated beside her and to Jack's right. The two worked well together, and he had confidence that they'd be able to get something of use.

"Owen," he looked at his medic last," I want you with me. Together we're going to go over One's notes on the Retcon testing. I started to yesterday but a lot of the medical information isn't in my area of expertise."

Owen shrugged, twirling a biro in his fingers. "Sounds good to me. Just glad you didn't ask me to go with Tosh and Dragon Boy. That's my idea of a boring time."

"Like we'd let you out on an unsuspecting public," Ianto drawled, favoring Owen with a pitying look. Toshiko choked on her giggles.

"Oi! I'm not that bad!"

"Last I heard," Ianto added, "you failed the 'Bedside Manner' course in medical school."

"No," Owen sniped back, "I didn't fail. I just didn't take the bloody class."

"Okay, kids," Jack chastised, then said, "and dragon," as a certain Second cleared his throat, "let's find our killer."

With those words, the team filed out; except for Owen, who remained at the table where all of the paper files on the Retcon testing had been set out. Jack grabbed a few of the files, and began to read.

The thing was, he simply couldn't concentrate.

He wanted to; this investigation was too important, but at the same time he couldn't help but think of the ramifications of a mating with Ianto. He couldn't lie to himself; he wanted it, more than he could say. Never, in his over a century of waiting for the Doctor, had Jack even considered the commitment this would entail. He had always intended on leaving Earth with the Doctor, but now…now he knew that wasn't the case anymore. Jack would get his answers…and would come home.

To Ianto.

The dream brought home to him just what a dragon mating was. He could still hear the song in his head, and wondered if this was what Toshiko had heard, back when she'd been wearing the Arcateenian pendant. _The Song of the Earth Dragon_, Ianto had said. It had been…beautiful, and for the first time in his life Jack had believed in magic.

He'd tried the domestic thing before, back when he'd thought he was still mortal, before the first death that had proved otherwise. Then there had been Estelle, who'd drawn him in like a moth to her bright flame; so full of life, and love, and a vibrancy that was oh so rare…and so very precious. It wasn't until Stella Courtney in the 70's that he'd found that again; even though she'd been a rebound from Lucia, there had been something that drawn Jack to her, although they hadn't lasted more than a couple of weeks after Stella had accidentally gotten involved with Torchwood.

And then there was Ianto, who was so completely different from any of his previous lovers.

Well, they weren't technically lovers yet, but Jack intended on changing that.

"Jack!"

Owen's voice brought him back to the task at hand. "Sorry," he said, chagrined. "I was a million miles away."

"No, really?" the medic snarked. "I never would've noticed, I've only been trying to get your attention for the last couple of minutes."

"Did you have something?" he asked, trying to get back on track.

"Nothing much about long-term effects," Owen reported. "Lots of medical jargon you wouldn't understand."

"Then why did you call me?"

"Because you'd been reading the same page over and over again."

"Yeah, sorry," he apologized again. "Just have a lot on my mind."

"Apparently."

"Look," Jack sighed. "Let's just get back to work."

Owen shrugged. "Fine by me. But I'm not doing all this shit myself."

Jack rolled his eyes, and forced his brain to start seeing the data in front of him instead of the images from the dream last night.

Some of what Torchwood One did in their tests was fascinating; other parts were horrific. Even before Yvonne Hartman's reign London had had questionable morals concerning just how they did business. It made Jack glad that he'd completely cut Cardiff off from One; and, although a lot of innocent people had paid the price for Yvonne Hartman's and her management staff's hubris, the captain was glad that the place had been destroyed.

"These people were sick bastards," Owen growled.

"You're not kidding," Jack agreed.

"Some of this shit…fuck, Jack, I wouldn't treat my worst enemy this way! Here's one repot where they actually wiped out someone's entire life, Retconned them back to nappies. And the scientist in charge was so fucking clinical in his notes…I'll never joke about that sort of thing again."

"Anything on implanting memories?" Jack asked, in an effort to distract the medic from the worst of the files.

"Not yet…wait, here's something. It's a report about how the testers took away six months' worth of memories, and gave the poor bastard enough false memories that his mind filled in most of the blanks itself."

They were perusing the file – and Jack was becoming more and more disturbed by it – when Gwen appeared in the doorway. "Jack, I think I have a hit on the CCTV search."

_At last_. "Whatcha got, Gwen?"

She held up a photo of an older man, with gray hair and an overgrown goatee. "Max Tresilian," she said. "He was caught on camera outside the Briscoe's street about half an hour before the murders occurred. He's also on Tosh's list of people who paid for the hotel conference room."

Jack grinned. "We got an address on him?"

Gwen nodded.

"Then have Ianto and Toshiko meet us there. Hopefully this is our killer, and we can stop him before he kills again."

* * *

><p>In the end, it was quite an interesting time apprehending Max Tresilian.<p>

The man lived on an estate outside of Cardiff, in a brick house in a neighborhood that looked as if, at some point, it had suffered a siege. Jack could remember when the estates were built, and comparing them now with his memory, they fell far short.

He and Gwen went first, hoping the former policewoman would be able to get Tresilian to open up to them. The man who answered the door was, indeed, the person they were looking for, only his drivers' license picture did him a disserve. Max was built like a hardcore biker, wearing a sleeveless t-shirt that had seen better days and torn jeans. Jack would not have been surprised to see him in one of the rougher pubs around.

And, like most people who were large and intimidating, Max seemed quite polite and obliging.

That was, until Gwen mentioned the word 'Torchwood'.

Somehow, Jack ended flat on his back, with an enraged Tresilian quite happily throttling him.

It took the combined efforts of Ianto and Owen – and Tosh, wielding a stun gun to good effect – to get the man off of Jack. While Owen and Gwen subdued him, Ianto helped Jack up, and the captain was quite content to keep ahold of the dragon's warm hand.

Until, of course, they had to wrestle their suspect into the SUV.

"At least I didn't add strangulation to my death repertoire," he tried to joke, but it fell flat with three out of four of his teammates. Gwen snickered, apparently realized that no one else thought it was funny, and tried to hide it under a cough.

The trip back to the Hub was a quiet one. Jack drove, knowing that Ianto and Tosh – in Ianto's car – were following them. A niggling doubt at the back of his mind was trying to tell him that this shouldn't be that simple, that there was something they were missing, that Max Tresilian was only a part of the larger puzzle that Suzie must have set out for them to solve.

Jack wondered if Suzie had known what was going to happen to Tresilian. If he'd been her accomplice, and if she'd dosed him with Retcon after the killings…no, it made the most sense, but Jack was beginning to realize that this couldn't be it. They knew of three of Suzie's victims; she'd started her killings not long before her death; the testing on the glove had begun perhaps three months before that. Had it been enough time to brainwash someone to become a killer? Or had Max already had the inclination to do so? There was so much they didn't know, too many questions that they needed answers to.

Would they get them from Tresilian?

The man had been perfectly amiable until Gwen had mentioned where they were from. Then, Tresilian had tried to kill Jack. Was Torchwood some sort of trigger word Suzie had installed in her victim? But why?

There was a very small part of himself that wanted to wake Suzie up and demand answers. However, Jack would never do that. First of all, Suzie needed to stay at rest. And second, the glove was way too dangerous to let someone use it ever again.

Besides, Owen had been correct: it was too late to even consider resurrecting Suzie. She'd been dead for far too long.

But Jack had to wonder if she'd somehow set all this up in case of her death. Or, if his original premise was right, that Tresilian had broken the Retcon conditioning and was remembering everything, and that writing 'Torchwood' on his victims' wall had to be Tresilian trying to get Suzie's attention.

Until they had further evidence, this theory made the most sense.

"We'll get him into one of the cells," he said, as he pulled into the garage. "Owen, I want every test you can come up with. We need to make sure this is our murderer."

"You got it," Owen said, climbing out of the SUV as soon as Jack had it parked. Together, they wrestled Tresilian's still-stunned body out of the boot of the vehicle, manhandling it down to the cells, where they not-so-gently tossed him inside. "I'll come back down with some needles and we can draw some blood."

"We?" Jack inquired, shutting and locking the door.

"Okay…me." With that admission, Owen headed upstairs to the main Hub, where the others had congregated.

Jack stared at the man in the cell. Max Tresilian was moving slightly, shaking off the effects of the stun gun gradually. He crossed his arms over his chest, clasping his elbows tightly, wondering what had been about this person that had brought him to Suzie's attention. Was there something special about Max Tresilian, something that made him fit her plans? Or was there another reason at play, something that they might not ever know?

Owen made it back down before Tresilian was completely awake, taking a blood sample then exiting the cell once more. He stood next to Jack, staring at their prisoner as he moved sluggishly. "I don't like the way he's coming around."

Jack glanced at Owen, then back at Tresilian. The medic was right; there was something off about his movements. "What are the others up to?"

"Dragon Boy was making coffee, and Tosh and Gwen were doing….something, not sure what."

They continued to watch Tresilian; the man eventually settled onto the floor, his legs folded beneath him, his eyes blank.

"I wonder why he reacted so badly when Gwen said Torchwood – "

Jack's question was brought to a halt as Tresilian reacted violently, launching himself off the floor and crashing into the clear wall, growling and pounding his fists against it.

And, just as suddenly, he stopped, sitting back into the cold stone floor.

"Interesting," Jack commented.

"The spell lasted exactly ten seconds," Ianto's voice came from down the hallway.

Jack turned, and he saw the dragon leaning against the wall, a stopwatch in hand. "Are you always at the ready?" he teased.

"Always, sir," Ianto answered dryly.

"Torchwood," Owen snapped.

And Tresilian gave the same response.

"If this is a drug-induced psychosis," the medic said, "it's a really specific one."

"If this is Retcon-induced or something Suzie programmed in…" Jack sighed. "Let me know what the tests say."

"I want some coffee, too." Owen turned and left, and Jack followed him.

They'd just made their way into the main Hub area when the very distinctive alarm signaling a lockdown echoed through the base, and the lights went off.


	44. Torchwood Murders Chapter Nine

The Torchwood Murders - Chapter Nine

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, and that's a shame.

Author's note: Thanks everyone for your reviews and alerts, I appreciate them, and they make me realize I'm doing things right. *grins*

* * *

><p><em><strong>25 November 2007<strong>_

Ianto had just finished making the next round of coffee when the lockdown alarm sounded, and the lights went out.

Luckily he was prepared; he had a torch under the counter, and with his sharper-than-average eyesight he was able to find it very easily.

"Ianto!'

Jack's shout drew him from the tiny kitchen. He clicked the torch on, heading to where Jack and Owen were standing by the entrance into the lower levels. "Jack," he answered, holding the long silver light just out of the captain's eyes.

"What happened?" Jack snapped, full into leader mode.

Ianto unconsciously straightened. "I have no idea, just that we're in lockdown."

"Then we need to find out a way to reverse it." Jack strode toward Toshiko's terminal, where the technician was trying desperately to get some sort of response from the mainframe. "Anything, Toshiko?"

"Everything's gone," she answered, frustrated. "Computers…mobiles…the lifts…everything. We're sealed in."

"How the hell did we go into lockdown in the first place?" Owen growled.

"It was some sort of override," she answered. "I had a split second's warning before everything went down. It was definitely done from the inside."

"But who would do it?" Gwen asked. She looked a little spooked in the glare from Ianto's torch.

That was a good question. "None of us would," Ianto said, certain of that. There was no reason for it at all.

"Wait a minute," Jack said, eyes widening, "we have a guest!" He turned on his heel, heading back down toward the vaults.

Confused, Ianto followed, knowing that at least Owen was at his back. "That's fucking impossible!" the medic exclaimed.

Ianto had to agree. How could Max Tresilian, locked as he was in a cell, be able to shut down the entire Hub?

They slammed into the corridor outside the cells, coming to a stop in front of Tresilian's cell. The man was sitting on the floor, mumbling to himself.

What the man was saying just added to the dragon's confusion.

"…_stopped for me._

_The carriage held but just ourselves_

_And Immortality_

_Because I could not stop for Death,…"_

"Is that a poem?" Owen asked incredulously.

"Emily Dickinson," Ianto said. Jack nodded his agreement.

"Doesn't seem the type, does he?" Jack asked rhetorically. "Torchwood!" he shouted.

Max didn't respond, which was a surprise to Ianto, remembering the man's reaction to the word back at his home.

Jack was shaking his head. "Look, we know Suzie did something to him, maybe even programmed him to become a killer. Why couldn't she have programmed him to do something else?"

"You mean speak poetry at a random moment?" Owen scoffed.

Ianto looked at Jack, and saw him reach the same conclusion that he did. "Suzie arranged the lockdown," the dragon answered for both of them.

"Oh, come on!" Owen exclaimed. "What the hell would she want with a lockdown after she's been dead for months?"

That was the question. Ianto didn't have the answer, but it fit with the few facts they'd been able to glean. "She must have installed a voice command before she killed herself," he went on.

"Max was just a Trojan Horse," Jack added. "She wanted us to find him, and bring him here. She programmed him to kill and, knowing we'd go after him and bring him her, she implanted a verbal trigger that was lock down the entire Hub. It was all a set-up."

"And I ask again: why?" Owen looked decidedly put out.

The realization was blinding, and Ianto had to be in awe of the massive amount of planning this had taken on Suzie's part. "She wanted us to resurrect her."

* * *

><p>They'd gathered back at Toshiko's work station. Toshiko was still trying to end the lockdown, but wasn't having any effect. Ianto knew what Suzie was capable of; while she'd never meet Toshiko's level, she really hadn't had to. All she had to do was shut everything down and make it impossible to bring the power back up.<p>

"It makes a horrible sort of sense," Jack said, leaning against the desk. "She gives Max a whole complex of subconscious triggers, using the Retcon to make him tractable."

"Like," Toshiko went on, pounding uselessly on her keyboard, "if Max doesn't see her in so long, the orders kick in, and he follows Suzie's programming."

"And the whole chain of events forces us to bring Suzie back," Jack snarled.

"But her research says she's too far dead to be brought back," Owen argued. "And if even if that wasn't the case, then she would've only lasted a couple of minutes anyway. What's the bloody point?"

"I don't think we'll ever know," Jack answered. "And I'm not about to bring her back to ask." He shot a glare at Gwen, who met it with an embarrassed shrug.

"How was I supposed to know that's what she wanted us to do?" she asked, although she'd lost the belligerent tone she'd had ever since she'd suggested using the glove in the first place.

That started a small argument, which Ianto promptly tuned out. There had to be a way to get a signal out of the Hub; he just had to work it out.

The dragon might have not traveled beyond Ddraig Llyn for centuries, but he'd been well aware of technological advances. He'd been one of the first in the village to get the internet at the inn, mainly to accommodate the few travelers he did get. That had led to much exploration on his part, and he'd been the first in the village to own a mobile. He'd known generally how they worked, but it hadn't been until he and Jack had taken over Torchwood Cardiff that Ianto had actually indulged himself and learned all he could get his hands on about human-kind's hand-held devices.

Ianto had also learned everything he could about Torchwood's mainframe, becoming even more knowledgeable in it than Suzie had been. Jack had teased him that the supercomputer had liked the dragon, and Ianto didn't argue with him about it. He suspected that she did, indeed.

It had been when Toshiko was hired that he'd gone completely nuts, because he'd found someone actually willing to _teach_ him. He'd learned all about signals and satellites and how waves could be bounced around the Earth…

He looked up at the water tower, and smiled.

" – just saying you should actually listen to your teammates every once in a while," Owen was saying, "because we sure as hell know what we're talking about."

"You've all been down here too long," Gwen snapped back. "You've forgotten what it's like to be human."

"I wish," Ianto found himself answering, which caused Toshiko to giggle and Jack to snort playfully.

He didn't look up. He was fairly certain Gwen had just turned her glare on him, not that it mattered. He had better things to worry about.

It took him two minutes, using the small penknife Toshiko had given him as a birthday present two years ago. He unscrewed the back of his mobile, found the internal antenna, and fiddled with it. Then he sealed the phone back up, and tested it.

He then gained their attention by waving the mobile under their collective noses. "I've got reception," he announced, feeling justifiably proud of himself.

That stopped the argument dead in its tracks. "How'd you do that?" Jack asked. "We're sealed off!"

Ianto smirked. "I bounced the signal off the water tower."

The smile that Jack favored him with lit a warmth in his chest that Ianto didn't think would vanish in a long time. "Nice work," he drawled. "So, who do we call?"

"I have an idea," the dragon answered, "but I'm not sure you're going to like it."

Jack stared at him for a moment, and Ianto felt as if he was trying to read his mind. Then he nodded decisively. "Call her."

"Call who?" Gwen demanded.

Ianto didn't answer; instead, he scrolled through his contacts, hitting the one he wanted. The phone on the other end rang twice, before it was answered. _"Swanson."_

"Good evening, Detective," Ianto greeted her.

"_Jones, what a surprise. I was just actually thinking about you."_

"Were you? Should I be flattered?"

She laughed. _"Probably not. What can I do for you?"_

He glanced over at Jack, silently asking him just how much he should say to her. At Jack's nod, he said, "We've managed to track down the killer."

There was silence on the other end, and Ianto was just beginning to think the call might have dropped when Swanson said, _"I honestly didn't think you'd tell me when you did."_

"I'm glad I could surprise you."

"_You did. Who is he?"_

"A man named Max Tresilian. He was in Pilgrim, that group I had Davidson tell you about."

"_Yeah, we got a report on him. What made you think it was him?"_

"I'll be more than glad to explain that to you, however there's a problem and I'd like to get your help."

Another round of silence greeted his statement. _"And how can I help the high-and-mighty Torchwood?"_

Ianto took a deep breath. He knew he couldn't tell her about Suzie, and how she programmed Tresilian into being her willing killer. And yet, he wanted to keep it close enough to the truth so that Swanson wouldn't call him on anything he was about to tell her. "It turns out that you were right: the murders did have something to do with Torchwood, only in that an enemy of ours recruited Tresilian to do it and to draw us out in the open. When we caught up with Tresilian, we found out he was programmed to get into our base and to lock us down. We're tapped inside."

"_You've got to be shitting me," _Swanson exclaimed.

"I wish I was, believe me."

"_Well, this is certainly a day of surprises. I can't believe you're actually admitting that the killings were indeed linked to you, however peripherally. You're gonna owe me for this, Jones."_

Ianto grinned. "I'll take you out to dinner."

Wait…did Jack just look _jealous_?

He was brought back to matters at hand by Swanson's delighted laughter. _"You're on. But I want that fancy Italian place near the Center. I have a craving for bruschetta with tomato and olive oil."_

"All right, you're on."

"_Okay…so, what can I do for you, Jones?"_

"I'll need you to look up Emily Dickinson. The lockdown code is somehow tied into her poetry."

The sound of keys clacking came over the connection. _"Thank God for Google,"_ she said. _"Am I looking for any particular poem?"_

"Find 'I Could Not Stop for Death," Ianto instructed. "That's the poem that caused the lockdown in the first place."

"_Got it."_

"Could you read me out the next verse?"

"_Sure. But what if this doesn't work?"_

"Then it looks like you'll really earn that Italian dinner."

"_Only for you, Jones. Only for you…"_

They ended up going through several poems, Swanson commenting that Dickinson was a "bloody bundle of laughs." Ianto had to agree, the poet seemed to have been obsessed with dark themes, and he couldn't tell if he was getting depressed because the lack of success, or because the poetry was bringing down his mood.

Ianto was just about to ask for another line when Toshiko waved her hand to get his attention. "Wait, this isn't working. Maybe if words caused the lockdown, numbers could reverse it…I need the ISBN number for the original book."

"Did you hear that?" Ianto asked Swanson.

"_Yeah, I did." _More keyboard clacking accompanied what must have been yet another internet search. "_Christ, do you have any idea how many editions of Emily Dickinson there are out there?"_

"How are you going to input it?" Owen asked. "The keyboard's not working."

"No," Toshiko answered, "but the membrane underneath might pick up the code and mainframe might recognize it."

"_Is there any way to narrow down to what edition you need?"_ Swanson asked. _"There are over 1,800 hits on Amazon alone."_

Ianto repeated what Swanson said, and jumped when Jack slapped his own forehead. "Oh, I'm an idiot. Try _The Complete Poems_."

A few seconds later, Swanson said, _"Yeah, that narrowed it down. Try this…" _She rattled off a number, and Ianto repeated it back to Toshiko…and nothing happened.

"Is there another one?" he asked.

"_Um…yeah. How about…" _She gave him another…

And that one worked.

"That did it," Ianto said, grinning. "You more than earned that dinner, Detective."

"_Glad I could help."_ He could tell she was smiling as well.

"Thank you."

"_AS I said before…only for you, Jones. You're the best of them all, and a friend besides. Now, I need to take my exhausted arse home. Call me to arrange that dinner."_

"I shall. Good night, Kathy."

"_See ya, Ianto."_

He flipped his mobile closed, sighing. She had the right idea; the dragon was tired, from the excitement of the day and the lack of sleep last night.

"Owen," Jack said, "We need to sedate Max Tresilian so he doesn't trigger another lockdown. Toshiko, go through every bit of code you can and find out whatever Suzie did and fix it. Gwen, go home to Rhys, and tell him what a wonderful boyfriend he is. Ianto, I want to talk to you in my office." With that, Jack turned and headed into said office, leaving Ianto with the distinct impression that the captain wasn't happy about what he'd promised Detective Swanson in order to get her help.


	45. Torchwood Murders Chapter Ten

The Torchwood Murders - Chapter Ten

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, which is very sad.

Author's note: Here we go, the last part of The Torchwood Murders. Hope you all enjoyed it! I'm giving this chapter an M rating, because, wel...it's Jack and Ianto. And a stopwatch. *grins*

Next up, a couple of short interludes, and then we get into the Dragon-Verse version of "Random Shoes"...which I'll say right now I completely tore apart, because I really don't like the episode at all. Hope you all keep reading, and thanks!

* * *

><p><em><strong>25 November 2007<strong>_

Jack couldn't believe he was jealous.

He'd always prided himself on his 51st century upbringing, and how open-minded he was about certain things. Of course, there were lines he wouldn't – and couldn't – cross, but jealousy was something he just didn't do.

And yet, when Ianto had told Swanson he was going to take her out to dinner, he just couldn't stop himself from feeling that way.

But, in the end Swanson had been able to help, and to be honest he couldn't begrudge her getting a little something for her trouble. After all, Jack was well aware of her opinion toward Torchwood, and it was only her friendship with Ianto that had most likely kept her from refusing to help and hanging up. Intellectually, he knew that the dragon and the detective were simply good friends; Ianto had also made it clear that the only reason he hadn't trusted Swanson with his secret was that he didn't want to cause a split in her loyalties.

He shouldn't be jealous.

But he was.

The dream he'd had was making it worse, Jack realized. That dream had given him a glimpse of what it might be like to have that sort of committed relationship, and Jack was finding that he did, indeed, want just that thing. Forget the Doctor; forget his own search for the reason of his immortality. If Jack was going to live forever, then he wanted Ianto to be at his side.

He strode into his office, leaning against the edge of his desk. He motioned to Ianto to shut the door behind him, which the dragon did, then he took the seat opposite Jack. "Yes, Jack?" he asked softly.

Jack looked at his Second closely. Ianto seemed completely unruffled, but there was a glint in his blue eyes that hinted that he might just be aware of how Jack was feeling. Had he been that transparent? He hadn't meant to be…

"I'll need you to call Helen out at Flat Holm first thing in the morning," he said, deciding to get right down to business. "I think it's safe enough to transport Max Tresilian out there; there's nothing to trigger him, and I'm hoping that, someday, we might be able to rehabilitate him."

Ianto nodded. "That makes sense. I'll do it as soon as I get in. You realize though that Gwen is going to want to know what happened to him."

He sighed. "You know, I really wish her stubbornness could be pointed somewhere else, and not at me." Jack was really getting tired of the woman's attitude, and it hadn't escaped his notice that she hadn't actually admitted that she'd been wrong about the glove.

"On the other hand," Ianto said, "she's picking up on the training pretty well. There are still some things she's not understanding, but I think she'll make a passable field agent. I just think that her being a liaison isn't in Torchwood's best interests. And no, I'm not just saying that because I like the job so well, although I do. If I honestly thought she could do it, then I'd agree to training her. But she's far too pushy and belligerent with her own teammates when she doesn't get her way; can you imagine her pulling that sort of attitude with Colonel Mace? Or better yet, Brigadier General Lethbridge-Stewart?"

That idea made Jack snort. Alistair would cut her off at the knees so fast she wouldn't even be aware of her lack of legs until she'd hit the ground. "Yeah, and I don't even want to get on the Queen's bad side, either."

Ianto flinched. "I'm quite fond of Her Majesty. I'd rather not make her angry."

"And she's quite fond of you. Should I be jealous?"

It was a question Jack had asked before, but today it sounded off, because he had, in fact, been jealous of the idea of Ianto having dinner with Swanson.

And what was worse, Ianto knew about it.

The dragon simply looked up at him, understanding in his old eyes. "No Jack," he answered quietly. "You don't need to be jealous."

The relief that slammed through him almost made his heart stop. He gave his Second a small, almost shy smile. "Good, I'm glad to hear it." He cleared his throat. "I do really wish I knew what Suzie's motivation was in all of this. She had to know we couldn't resurrect her with the glove, since she's the one who studied the blasted thing in the first place. Unless there was something she knew about it that we don't."

Jack couldn't help but feel that the murders and the damage that had been done to Tresilian was his fault. Suzie had been the one he'd kept from when he and Ianto had taken over Torchwood Three; she'd been one of Yvonne's hand-picked recruits, after all. But he'd seen something in her, even though Ianto hadn't trusted her, and he'd kept her on. And, for nearly seven years, Suzie had been a brilliant employee.

"Stop feeling guilty," Ianto snapped, leaning forward and putting his hand on Jack's knee. "There was absolutely nothing in Suzie's behavior to clue anyone in on what she was up to. And no, we'll never know what her complete plan was, although I'm quite certain she thought we'd at least try to use the glove on her. She had her motivation, and unfortunately it's not something she shared anywhere. But," he mused, leaning back in his chair, and Jack missed the comfort his touch had brought, "how did you know about the book? Or was it some sort of thing you pulled out of your proverbial hat?"

"Actually, I saw it in Suzie's belongings. It just made sense that it was what she'd used to program her little trap. But, with the Hub on lockdown, there was no way to get to it again. Oh, and it was a very good idea to call Swanson, although I suspect if it had been me calling I would have gotten laughed at. And yes, I know that I treat most coppers with not a lot of respect, but you know why I do it: if I can save one life by keeping them out of danger, then pissing them off is worth it."

"And I get to unruffle the feathers you ruffle," Ianto chuckled.

"That's why you're the best person for the liaison job. I'm only sorry I didn't see it before. Here I was, trying to make things easier for you, and instead I insult you."

"It's all water under the bridge, Jack. We're fine now." Ianto's eyes narrowed, and Jack could swear he saw something smoldering there. "You know," he said, "I still have that stopwatch."

Jack stared at him, confused by the sudden change of subject. "So?"

"Well, think about it." Ianto's lips curled up suggestively. "There's lots of things you can do with a stopwatch."

Wait a second…was Ianto _propositioning_ him?

Oh goddess, he _was_….

Jack couldn't help by shiver. Before it had been him initiating; to have Ianto do it, was an incredible turn on. Yet, he decided to play along instead of jumping his Second there and then. "Oh yeah," he said seductively. "I can think of a few." Even though his mind had gone completely blank.

"There's quite a list," the dragon said playfully.

In that moment, Jack knew he had to make a decision. If he encouraged Ianto to stay, there would be no turning back; their relationship would become all-too real. Jack knew exactly how he felt about the dragon, and he also knew that his own heart wouldn't let him go back to the on-again off-again office fling they'd once had, before Jack had broken Ianto's trust in him. Whatever happened tonight would dictate his own actions in years – in millennia – to come. It was daunting.

But it was also what Jack wanted more than anything.

"I'll send Owen and Toshiko home," he said. "Give me ten minutes."

Ianto shifted slightly, pulling the old stopwatch from his jacket pocket. He clicked the button on the top. "That's ten minutes….and counting."

The smile on the dragon's face was positively radiant.

It had taken Jack a little longer than he'd thought to chivvy Toshiko out of the Hub. She complained about needing to finish removing Suzie's tampering from mainframe, but Jack had finally put his foot down and told her it could wait until the morning, with Tresilian sedated there would be no more booby traps tripped. That had mollified her somewhat, and the captain had shooed her out the cog door as quickly as he could.

As he bounded back into his office, Jack saw that Ianto was standing in front of the desk, his jacket lying across the chair and the stopwatch in hand. As soon as Jack crossed the threshold, the dragon clicked the button once more, glancing at the watch's face. "Hm…nine minutes and forty-seven seconds," he said. "I really didn't think you were going to get Tosh out of here, although of course Owen was quick to leave."

Seeing him there, Jack knew he didn't want to play any games. He stalked forward, snatching the stopwatch from Ianto's hand and flinging it away. He barely registered the tinkle of broken glass as he pulled the dragon flush against him. "Forget the stopwatch," he growled. "I want you inside me."

Ianto's eyes widened, the blue darkening almost to indigo. "If that's what you want," he answered, his voice lowering almost an octave.

In answer, Jack kissed him,

It wasn't a pretty kiss, nor was it perfect. But it held every bit of the desire and need and want that Jack had been feeling lately, intensified by the mating dream he'd had. It was all tongues and teeth and lips sliding across lips and the gloriousness of passion finally unleashed.

Jack lost himself in the closeness, his hands tugging Ianto even impossibly nearer, so close he could feel the dragon's heat through his clothes and the beating of that strong heart against his chest. Hands roamed where they would, and by the time they'd had to break for air, Ianto stood bare-chested and Jack's braces and belt had somehow ended up on the chair with Ianto's jacket.

"Down to your bunker," Ianto ordered, his voice hoarse.

Jack hastened to obey.

He had barely made it down the ladder before Ianto had joined him, pushing him down onto the camp bed face-first. Jack managed to turn over before the dragon was on top of him, straddling his thighs and practically yanking Jack's shirts over his head. Ianto's eyes had changed into their dragon aspect, shining in the light coming from the manhole over their heads.

Ianto practically attacked the skin of Jack's neck, and he arched into the questing mouth as the dragon licked and bit down the corded muscle and then down his chest, nipping and sucking on Jack's nipples, and the captain moaned under the assault. He could feel Ianto's erection pressing into his own through their trousers, and Jack ground into him, desperately wanting the friction.

Jack was quickly losing himself in sensation. The times that they'd had sex before, he'd been the one to initiate it, and Ianto had followed his lead. Now, the dragon was taking control, and it was driving Jack so wild he knew he wouldn't last too much longer.

"Need you," he gasped, his fingers twisting in Ianto's hair.

Hands were at his fly, and Jack lifted his hips so Ianto could remove his trousers. In seconds they were both completely naked, and the dragon was moving toward Jack's hard cock.

Jack nearly screamed when Ianto's mouth encircled his penis.

The dragon's internal heat was somewhat higher than a human's, and Jack felt as if he was being engulfed in steam. It was the most incredible thing he could ever remember feeling, and he tried to thrust up into Ianto's mouth, but his lover held him down, taking his enjoyment in giving Jack one of the most amazing blowjobs he'd ever had.

The heat of orgasm was rising, and Jack had to forcefully pull Ianto away from his aching cock. "If you don't stop I won't last," he panted. "Lube's in the drawer."

Ianto nodded. He fetched the lube, and Jack spread himself open for the dragon to prepare. The coolness of the lube contrasted against the heat of Ianto's tongue, which kept up light ministrations on Jack's cock. A finger breached him, and then two; by the third one Jack was babbling incoherently, the fire rising within him and begging to be set free.

He did scream then, when Ianto's own penis thrust into him.

The heat within him demanded release. Jack met every one of Ianto's thrusts with one of his own, falling into a rhythm that brought such intense pleasure he felt as if he was literally going to explode with it. He met Ianto's eyes; he could tell they were still in dragon-aspect, even though the pupils were so blown they were almost completely round.

And then, Ianto began to sing.

Jack felt himself spiraling upward with the song, even though he couldn't understand the words. The bunker was filled with the indescribable music, and it seemed to penetrate deeply into his very soul as his orgasm blasted through him, matching Ianto's own as the dragon flung his head back, the song reaching a crescendo as well.

The intensity of it caused Jack's vision to white out; he felt Ianto collapse half on top of him, the overheated skin of his lover almost blistering, yet Jack reveled in it. He blinked, and the ceiling of the bunker appeared. He turned his head toward his lover, and saw Ianto looking back at him, his eyes still in their dragon shape.

Jack thought he looked incredibly beautiful and otherworldly.

"I love you," he said almost soundlessly.

The look on Ianto's face was incandescent. "I love you too."

Jack leaned over slightly, catching Ianto's lips in a kiss that was nothing like the passionate one they'd shared upstairs. This one was full of promise.

Jack had made his decision.

And his decision was Ianto Jones.


	46. In Dreams

In Dreams

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, more's the pity

Author's note: Here is the first of the shorts between Torchwood Murders and For Sale to the Highest Bidder, the Dragon-Verse version of "Random Shoes". It's touches on Jack's dream in Torchwood Murders and Toshiko learns something very interesting.

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

><p><em><strong>26 November 2007<strong>_

"Hey Tosh," Gwen greeted, sliding her chair toward the technician's. "Have you noticed something off about Jack today?"

Toshiko wanted to roll her eyes, but instead kept them on the lines of code she was reading. "Not really," she answered, keeping her voice distant.

She was lying, of course.

She had noticed something different about both Jack and Ianto, but in her opinion it wasn't 'off', as Gwen put it. But of course the other woman wouldn't notice that Ianto was the same way; she only noticed Jack because half the time she was panting after him, and the other half she fighting with him. And this was while she was shagging Owen, and keeping her own so-called boyfriend Rhys on the side.

Toshiko just didn't get people sometimes. And she was often glad of that fact.

She heard Gwen barely stifle a sigh, then push her chair back to her own desk. Toshiko smiled slightly, happy that she'd taken the hint instead of pushing, as was her wont. She wasn't about to get into her friends' personal lives with Gwen Cooper.

And it was, indeed, personal, as far as Toshiko could see. Ever since she'd gotten in that morning, it had been impossible to miss the looks, the touches, the smiles; how close Jack tended to stand next to Ianto and vice versa; and Jack's tendency to get distracted when Ianto was in the room. Ianto had this radiance about him as well; he was positively glowing, and Toshiko had never seen him that happy.

It only led to one conclusion, one that Toshiko had been hoping for ever since she'd realized that Ianto loved Jack.

That Jack loved Ianto, too. And that they were finally together.

There was a part of her that wanted to get up and dance, and go up to them both and congratulate them. But she knew better, because Gwen would disapprove and it would cause unrest within the team, and Owen would simply mock them both. No, this was something she'd keep to herself, and be quietly pleased for both of them.

Well, within work hours. After hours was fair game.

With that thought, Toshiko settled back in to work, wanting to get every bit of corrupted code out of the system from Suzie's tampering.

Toshiko lost track of time tracing down the bad code, and before she knew it Ianto was at her shoulder, bringing her afternoon coffee. She smiled up at him, happy to see the contented look in his eyes.

"How is it going?" he asked, setting the mug down on a clear area of desk.

"I think that should be my question," she returned, "only I think it's pretty obvious it's going very well."

Ianto actually blushed, while trying to look completely innocent. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean."

She raised a disbelieving eyebrow, not saying anything.

In seconds, Ianto cracked.

He leaned forward, and after taking a quick look around to check for privacy, he whispered, 'Jack and I…" he let the sentence fade, but Toshiko could fill in the details.

She'd had a feeling that something good had happened last night, but Ianto's near-confession was enough to confirm it. She grinned, slipped an arm around his waist, and hugged him. "You have no idea how happy I am for you!"

Ianto draped his own arm over her shoulders. "Thanks." His eyes were shining. "Oh, and Jack and I would like you to stay a little while after the others leave, if you can."

"Not a problem." Toshiko wondered what that could be about. She wanted to ask, but kept her curiosity under wraps. "Oh, I think I've found all of Suzie's tampering. I'm just running things through to check right now."

"Excellent. I'll let Jack know – "

"Ianto!"

The dragon snorted. "Speak of the devil and he shall bellow your name." Toshiko chuckled. "Actually, I think that's the conference call with Her Majesty –"

"OI, Toshiko! Quit feeling up my Second and let him get back to work!" Jack's voice was teasing.

She felt her face heat up, but she couldn't help but respond, "I would if Ianto didn't have the best arse in the Hub!"

It was Ianto's turn to blush, as Jack bounded down from his office, grinning almost madly. "He does, doesn't he?" he said, gently removing Ianto's hand from Toshiko's shoulder, and dragging him along.

Toshiko noticed that Jack didn't let go.

It gave her a warm feeling,

"OI!" Owen's aggrieved voice shouted from the Autopsy Bay. "I resent that! I have a much better arse than Dragon Boy does!"

"In place of 'better', read 'skinnier'," Toshiko answered primly.

The soft sound of Gwen snickering came to Toshiko's ears, and for some reason it made her a bit irritated. "But I'm sure Gwen's the expert on that!" she called back, not feeling at all bad about it.

It certainly shut Gwen up.

* * *

><p>"Okay, kids," Jack called, stepping out of his office and clapping his hands together to get their attention. "Rift willing, the long-delayed Torchwood Anniversary Pub Crawl will be Friday night. Put on your glad rags and prepare to get drunk off your collective asses. Oh, and our own Second in Command and head dragon, Ianto Jones, will be performing karaoke sometime during the evening."<p>

Toshiko laughed at Ianto's put-upon expression. "And who decided this?" he asked, coming to a stop just at the bottom of the steps going up to the office.

Jack pouted. "We can't have a true pub crawl without you singing!" He pressed his hands together prayerfully. "Pretty please?"

Ianto rolled his eyes. "I expect to be fully compensated."

"You will be," Jack purred lasciviously.

"God, Harkness, that's disgusting," Owen groaned. "You don't have to prove that's you'll flirt with anything, human or not."

Ianto turned, spearing the medic with a superior expression. "You're just jealous because my arse is better than yours," he snarked.

"In your dreams," Owen scoffed. "Please say we can go so I don't have to deal with the bullshit in here? I don't want to ruin my shoes."

"And that alien goop you were flinging all over the Autopsy Bay didn't already do that?" Ianto said, deadpan.

"Children," Jack warned playfully, "do I have to send you both to the naughty corner?"

"Excuse me?" Ianto quirked an eyebrow at him. "And just how old are you?"

Toshiko laughed at Jack's affronted expression. It was true; Ianto was so much older than Jack, even though their captain had been in Torchwood for nearly one hundred forty years.

"Go on, you lot," Jack shooed them out. "Leave me to my mediocrity."

In no time at all, Owen and Gwen were leaving, and Toshiko wondered if they were going back to Owen's. She had no idea how long Owen would keep it up, but she suspected it wouldn't be much longer. She'd seen it all before; the medic had the sexual attention span of a mayfly.

She took her time, recalling what Ianto had said earlier about Jack asking her to stay over. Sure enough, the moment the cog door had closed behind her two colleagues, both Jack and Ianto approached her. "Ianto told you we'd want you to stay over a little?" Jack asked, without preamble.

Toshiko nodded. "And I don't think it's because you both want to announce that you're finally together," she teased.

This time, it was Jack who blushed. She made a mental note to mark the calendar; it wasn't often that Jack Harkness got embarrassed. "Yeah, well I had to come out of that idiot phase eventually."

"I'm really happy for you." Toshiko pulled them both into a hug. When she pulled back, she playfully punched Jack in the shoulder.

"What's that for?" he complained, rubbing his shoulder.

"That's for taking so long!" she answered. "And I didn't hit you that hard, you big baby."

Ianto rolled his eyes. "Thanks for staying, Tosh."

"Not a problem. What can I do for you?"

Both men glanced at each other, and she watched as they seemed to have a silent conversation; Jack shrugged, Ianto raised an eyebrow, then Jack nodded. She had to fight the smile that threatened to give away her delight, instead choosing to wait and see what they wanted.

"All right," Ianto finally said, turning back to Toshiko. "You remember when you were wearing that Arkateenian pendant, and you heard the Earth Dragon's song and saw that image of my mate?"

Toshiko nodded; it wasn't one of her best moments, and she still felt guilty about prying into her friends' thoughts, even though Ianto had long forgiven her.

"The other night," the dragon went on, "Jack and I were sleeping in my hoard room, and Jack…had a dream, where he was that dragon, and that we were joined in the Mating ritual."

"It was a very intense dream," Jack admitted, this time the blush rose into his ears, and Toshiko didn't need to know anymore for her own blush to start.

"And when Jack woke up, something…was happening." Ianto stammered to a halt.

Toshiko glanced between the two of them, suddenly concerned. They seemed happy together, so it couldn't have been bad, but they both appeared very hesitant.

Her worry must have shown, because Jack touched her arm. "No, it wasn't anything bad…at least, we don't think it was."

Ianto nodded in agreement. "I'd kept these carved posts that were a part of my sister's mating ceremony, and I brought them from Ddraig Llyn after my leave and set them up in my hoard room. They…reminded me of good times, and I wanted them nearby."

"That's understandable." Ianto had been through a lot lately, and Toshiko could certainly see why he'd want to bring them here.

"But," he went on, "after Jack woke up from the dream, one of the posts – the Earth Dragon's totem – was glowing."

"I tried to scan it with my wrist strap," Jack added, "but by the time I was up, the glow had stopped and I didn't get anything."

Toshiko frowned, her mind trying to come up with answers. "You think it had something to do with the dream?"

"It's really the only explanation," Ianto answered, "but there shouldn't be any sort of power in them at all. They were only used as anchors to call the Great Dragons for the actual ceremony; if there was any sort of power in them at all, it would have come from the priest officiating, or from the Dragons themselves."

"I'm wondering if they aren't somehow tapping into the Rift," Jack suggested. "But once again, I'm not sure how it's doing it, unless being exposed to power in the past primed them for now. The only thing is, I'm not sure the others were glowing, because I was focusing on the one in front of me."

"And," Ianto went on, "when Jack asked me what the ritual actually entailed – "

"To compare it to my dream."

" – I began to say back the chant to call the Dragons, and things started to happen. I could feel the power rising, and it shouldn't have been able to do that. I stopped immediately."

"And what Ianto said, matched up to the dream perfectly, and he'd never told me that. My first thought was that it was some sort of shared dream, but Ianto hadn't been dreaming at all."

Toshiko chewed her lip. This was certainly a puzzle, one that she was prepared to help her friends solve. "So, we need to set up some sensors down in the hoard room, then attempt to recreate the initial conditions." She considered. "I think I know what we can use. Help me get the equipment together and then we can see what we find out."

* * *

><p>It took about an hour and a half to get what Toshiko wanted, and then get set up. She'd been in Ianto's hoard room many times; it had fascinated her that there could even be a hoarding instinct for dragons, and Ianto had said that much of what was actually there had come from a time when he'd been worshipped as a god. He'd looked uncomfortable as he'd admitted it, and Toshiko guessed that it hadn't been the best time of his life.<p>

The four wooden posts were amazing. The detail that had been carved into each of them had her mesmerized, until Jack had gently prodded her back to work. She wondered how long it had taken for Ianto and his father to carve them, and just what some of the symbols meant. Some were abstract; others looked like some sort of alphabet; while others were obviously Latin words. Entwining its way through the symbols and words was a dragon, its tail the end of the post that would go into the ground, and his head at the very top. The workmanship was superb, and she made a note to ask Ianto if he still did any sort of woodwork like that anymore.

Toshiko knew about Ianto's sister, Sabrina; he'd told her, one night over movies and pizza. She would have dearly loved to have been a dragon-friend at the mating. Hope flashed through her that, perhaps one day she might actually see one…

She thought back on the bracelet that Ianto had given her, three birthdays ago. It had been very old, and very expensive, and she'd tried to refuse it at first. But Ianto had said that it had belonged to his sister, and had been a mating gift from a dear friend of their family. He'd told her that she was his sister now, and that Sabrina would have loved her.

It still brought happy tears to her eyes when she thought of that simple, heartfelt statement.

She supervised the placement of various sensors around the room, making certain that each post had their own little group of instruments monitoring it. Toshiko tested each with her PDA, making certain the mainframe was getting a clear signal from each. Everything seemed to be in working order.

The three retreated toward the center of the room, just next to the pile of pillows and quilts that Ianto – in his dragon form – slept on when he stayed at the Hub. Toshiko fiddled with the PDA, then said, "If you wanted to, we could try to call the Dragons, like you did before."

Ianto nodded, taking several steps back. The golden glow that heralded his shape-change shimmered over him, and in second the magnificent green dragon that was also her friend was curled up on the cushions, his cat-like eyes smiling down at her and Jack.

Jack didn't hesitate; he made his way to the dragon's side, resting his arm over the well-muscled neck. Toshiko was struck at just how right it was, to see them like this, and it brought to mind a couple of notions that had been perking just below conscious thought.

"Ianto," she asked, "have you ever given any thought to the idea that your vision-mate's color is the same as Jack's greatcoat?"

Ianto's mouth moved, but nothing came out. His head moved to regard Jack, who looked as confused as the dragon must have felt. "No," he admitted. "I…just saw a blue-gray dragon. It never once occurred to me that he was the same color."

"And your mate has always been a male, right?" At the dragon's nod, Toshiko frowned slightly. "I don't mean this to sound rude, but didn't anyone think it was strange that you had a vision of a male dragon as a mate?"

"No," he said. "Dragons are quite open-minded. Even if we weren't, I was raised during the height of the Roman Empire. Having a male lover was almost expected."

"And when I overheard your thoughts, there was the Earth Dragon's song in your mind…and that was the same song that was being sung when you saw your mate, and it was also the one in Jack's dream? And it was the same post that was glowing?"

She could practically see the gears running behind Ianto's eyes. "I…feel a bit like an idiot for not seeing the connections."

"Sometimes it takes a fresh set of eyes to see what's just in front of you." She didn't want to sound smug, but she certainly felt it.

"Wait," Jack interrupted, waving his free hand about, "are you saying that the dragon in Ianto's vision and in my dream was _allegorical_?"

"Well," Toshiko shrugged, "I doubt that, as a dragon, Ianto would have accepted that he's somehow destined to mate with a human…even an immortal one. It can't look any closer like you if it tried: blue eyes, scales the color of your greatcoat, dragons are practically immortal…"

"That…" Jack shook his head, but Toshiko couldn't tell if he was denying it or was just in shock. "Well…"

"I agree," the dragon said.

"It's…incredible," Jack went on. "This predicates that an ancient dragon knew about me, 4,600 years before I was born, and knew I was going to meet Ianto at some point, and that I would want to be his mate."

Toshiko saw a flash of pain in Ianto's eyes, and realized that he'd just taken Jack's last words to mean that he didn't, in fact, want to mate with him. "We believed _her_," he murmured, moving slightly away from Jack's embrace.

She was just going to say something, when Jack moved with Ianto and tightened his grasp. "Yes, we did," he said fiercely. "But that doesn't mean we can't break the readings it we want. I promise you: I'm not going to let happen what she told you, okay? I'll do anything in my power to prevent it. The last thing I would ever want to do is break your heart once, let alone two more times."

Toshiko really wanted to know what Jack was talking about, but apparently Ianto did, because the dragon visibly relaxed under Jack's reassurances. "All right," Ianto said, mouth open in the version of a dragon smile, showing more teeth than Jack usually did when he smiled. "Let's see if any of these sensors can pick up what we felt that night, shall we?"

"Just do what you did before," Toshiko said, readying her PDA. "If anything does happen, we'll know it."

The dragon nodded. "I'll start the Call, then." He took a deep breath. "I call upon the Dragon of Fire, who keeps the soul of the Earth burning brightly within his mighty claws, bless this mating with the warmth of comfort and love."

Toshiko kept her eyes on her instruments, and she frowned. She wasn't getting anything, and yet it seemed a bit warmer in the room.

"I call upon the Dragon of Air," Ianto continued, "who keeps the breath of the Earth flowing from her great wings, bless this mating with the breeze of laughter and understanding."

Something ruffled her hair, but they were too far underground for there to be a wind…and yet, the equipment was failing to pick anything up at all. She glanced up to check the ceremonial posts, but they simply stood in their corners, not reacting.

Jack stood beside Ianto, his own eyes glancing between the posts, and it was obvious that Toshiko wasn't the only one feeling the atmospheric changes; his hair was blowing as well, but very lightly.

"I call upon the Dragon of Water," Ianto began.

"Who keeps the life of the Earth flowing through his veins," Jack put in, echoing Ianto's words exactly. He looked quite surprised, but kept on. "Bless this mating with the lifeblood of peace and fertility."

The technician was seriously beginning to get weirded out, which was saying something with all the strange shit she'd seen in her time with Torchwood. The faint tang of the sea wafted about her, and while she could try to fool herself that it must have been from the bay, she knew it wasn't; it was far too fresh to be that.

Her PDA still remained stubbornly quiet.

Then, it wasn't the Rift. She wondered exactly what it was.

"And finally," both dragon and immortal intoned, "I call upon the Dragon of Earth, the mightiest of us all, who brought the first of our race out of the darkness of ignorance and despair, and who keeps the bones of the Earth from shattering, bless this mating with the strength to endure all that may test it."

She could feel it; a deep thrumming within her blood as they finished speaking, The once-bright lights within the hoard room dimmed, and while none of the posts were responding it was obvious that something was going on.

Toshiko saw it happen.

Jack _changed_.

While he still stood beside Ianto, in his human form, a larger shape overlaid itself over him, nearly hiding him in shadow. Toshiko could see the blue-gray dragon manifesting around her captain and friend, and the large head turned to look at her, the blue eyes laughing as he acknowledged her presence.

"_Not yet,"_ a voice whispered throughout the chamber. _"Now is not the time."_

It was another dragon; even though she couldn't see it physically, Toshiko knew there was a third dragon in the room with them. It was what was dimming the lights; it was the power that she was feeling, beating with her heart.

And the song began.

It was the same one she'd heard in Ianto's mind; the Song of the Earth Dragon.

"_Soon," _the voice added, sounding as deep as the core of the planet and just as ancient. _"I Name you Dragon-Friend, Toshiko Sato. You are a True friend, and your memory shall be cherished among those who follow. I Bless you, child, as I Bless these two. Do not fear what comes after; hold true to yourself and your friendship, and you shall be rewarded. My sons have much to go through before they can be truly Mated, and you must stand beside them through the trials that come. Will you do this?"_

Toshiko stared at her friends; they seemed frozen in the center of the hoard room, the silhouette of the blue-gray dragon still hovering around Jack. She could barely make out the presence of the Earth Dragon, and while she didn't know exactly what was going to happen, she knew there was no way she could deny him when it came to Jack and Ianto.

"I will," she answered, holding her head up proudly. "Thank you for trusting me."

"_You are a good person, Toshiko, with a true and giving heart. My sons have chosen you as their friend and confidante very wisely indeed. Will you take my mark, as a sign of your promise?"_

"I will," she said again.

The Dragon didn't say anything; instead, Toshiko felt the presence swirl around her, like some sort of mini cyclone. There was a sudden, sharp pain just over her left shoulder blade, and it was gone just as quickly as it had occurred.

"_My time here is done,"_ the great creature said. _"Your machines will not have detected anything, but you have the evidence of your memories and of my mark. When the time comes for the proper mating, you will know. Thank you once more, Toshiko, for being a sister to my sons."_

With those final words, the lights came back up, and the blue-gray dragon vanished. Both Jack and Ianto started, then turned as one to look at her. "Please tell us you got something," Jack said, almost pleading.

Toshiko shook her head, and both of her friends looked vastly disappointed. "But," she said, "I think you missed something that happened only to me, and I can't wait to tell you about it."


	47. Seventh Annual Torchwood Pub Crawl

The Seventh Annual Torchwood Anniversary Pub Crawl

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, more's the pity

Author's note: Here is the second of the shorts, set after In Dreams and before For Sale to the Highest Bidder, the Dragon-Verse version of "Random Shoes", which will be up next. Just a little interlude, because the team didn't get their chance to go and party for their anniversary. There are parts to this that might be construed as being not friendly to Gwen, just so you know. Thanks for reading!

* * *

><p><em><strong>30 November 2007<strong>_

A strong, chill wind whipped Jack's coat around his legs as he held the pub door open for his team. They walked past, laughing and relaxed, and he wished he could see them all like this more often. Things had been so stressful lately, and he was glad that the Rift seemed to be cooperating, in letting them have a night to just be five colleagues out for the night, and that nothing would occur to turn them back into Torchwood Three once more.

He followed Ianto in, his eyes dropping to the dragon's human ass as they made their way to a table toward the back. The pub Jack had chosen wasn't busy as yet, but he knew it would be later, and wanted his team to bond over good drinks, and good conversation before the place was heaving.

They quickly slid into the unoccupied booth, and Jack pulled up an extra chair so he was able to sit next to Ianto. "So, what's everyone having?" he asked.

"How do we decide who gets the drinks in?" Gwen asked, sitting next to Owen.

"Seniority," Ianto answered. "Jack first, then me, Tosh, Owen…and you last. Then, if we're all still sober, we start over."

"Which means Jack gets to drink bloody water all night," Owen added.

"And make fun of the rest of us," Tosh said.

Ianto nudged her playfully. "That's why he's the boss, you know. And the designated driver."

Jack laughed, standing. "Order 'em up, ladies and gentlemen."

His three long-standing teammates gave their usual orders; Gwen, after a second's thought, decided on a gin and tonic. Jack strode to the bar, putting in the order, then turned to look back at their table.

His team sat there. He was inordinately proud of them, even while they drove him nuts at times. Jack smiled softly, his eyes going to one particular member of that group.

After that night when the Earth Dragon had spoken to Toshiko, Ianto and Jack had decided to let things develop between them. Jack had never really felt closer to anyone in his entire life, not even the Doctor and Rose. If there really was a way for them to become mates, even though he wasn't a dragon, Jack was becoming increasingly certain that it was, indeed, what he wanted. It bothered him more than a little though that there was the potential that he'd hurt Ianto at some point, but that was a chance that all relationships faced. They would have to deal with it, and he hoped it would be together.

And Toshiko…his brilliant friend. She was seated beside Ianto, and the dragon was leaning into her as she grinned at something he'd obviously said. After she'd told them what had happened – both Jack and Ianto hadn't seen or heard what she had, and it puzzled them both – and had shown them the Earth Dragon's mark, they'd both accepted her for what she truly was…their best friend and confidante. It was amazing; when they'd pulled her out of that UNIT detention center, Jack had been certain she'd always remain that timid creature that her confinement had wrought. But she'd blossomed, and Jack felt bad for ever doubting that she had the strength needed to rise above everything and come into her own.

He hoped that both Owen and Gwen would become as close to them as Toshiko had. Jack wanted them all to be close, and he would work for that goal.

The bartender gave Jack their drinks on a tray, and Jack balanced them fairly gracefully toward their table. He got them passed out, putting the cleared tray on an unoccupied table next to them, then took his seat at the head of the table.

He raised his glass. "To another year," Jack toasted, "and to the successes, failures…and the one we lost."

"To Suzie," Ianto echoed, clinking his glass against Jack's.

"To Suzie," Toshiko and Owen said, their own glasses touching their teammates'.

Only Gwen didn't join in the toast, but then she'd only known Suzie as the murderer, and not the brilliant woman she'd been before the glove. Jack decided she needed an education in Suzie Costello. "Do you all remember the time Suzie found that piece of tech that ended up being some sort of futuristic whoopee cushion?"

Toshiko spluttered in her wine glass. "Oh god," she said, after Ianto had patted her on the back to clear her airway. "She spent weeks trying to figure out what it did!"

"And all the time," Ianto joined in, "it was making these farting noises and she couldn't figure out where they were coming from!"

Owen nodded in agreement. "And the bloody thing stunk! It was like being around a dead skunk, it was so fucking disgusting."

Gwen's eyes were large. "You're kidding me!"

"Hell, no," Jack answered, laughing. "It would go off at the weirdest times, and she never could track it down until, finally, she was right next to it when it farted."

"Owen blamed her," Toshiko accused.

"I thought it was her!" Owen defended himself. "How was I supposed to know it was that damned whoopee cushion?"

"Not even a dragon with intestinal issues could make a smell that bad," Ianto snorted. "A normal human certainly wouldn't."

"Yeah, gimme a break. It seemed like it was her at the time…or your flying rat, Ianto."

"Myfanwy has better manners than to pass wind on someone," the dragon said primly. "I taught her better than that."

"Okay," Gwen said, "just how did you get a pterodactyl, anyway?"

"Pteranodon, actually," Ianto corrected. "And Jack and I caught her."

Jack nodded, remembering. That had been the first time he'd taken Ianto to his bed, and he considered capturing Myfanwy as a part of their very strange courtship. "There was a Rift spike, and it led to this warehouse. Ianto and I went in…and there she was."

"Luckily for me I had nets in the SUV," Ianto said. "We might not have managed otherwise. But Jack decided that he had to try without them, and she took him for an impromptu flight."

"She dropped me pretty quickly," Jack went on.

"Right on top of me," Ianto retorted.

"You make a very soft cushion," Jack said, leering at him. He could still recall how it had felt to have Ianto under him, to feel his own sudden arousal match Ianto's…and then, Myfanwy had regained their attention once more.

"It's just a good thing my bones are very tough, or else you might have broken something."

"But then," Owen added, "the reaction when we all came in the next day to find a bleeding dinosaur in the Hub!"

"She's not a dinosaur," Ianto corrected.

"Yeah, yeah…a freaking pteranodon. I got it, Dragon Boy."

"But Myfanwy hadn't been Hub-trained yet," Toshiko stepped into the story-telling breach. "She'd shat all over Suzie's desk and had pulled out all the cables from around my terminals. Oh, and we found out the hard way that pizza disagrees with prehistoric creatures."

Ianto shuddered dramatically. "It proved that we really needed to train her on what she could and couldn't eat."

Gwen looked as if she was having trouble believing it, and Jack wanted to snort. After everything she'd seen…why was Myfanwy's capture so hard to take?

"Are we really going to do karaoke tonight?" Toshiko asked eagerly.

Jack grinned. "We most certainly are. We should make it mandatory that we do every anniversary."

"You just want me to sing," Ianto groused good-naturedly.

"Damn right," Jack answered. "You don't get out of it that easily, Mr. Jones."

"I don't understand," Gwen said. "What's the big deal about Ianto singing?"

Jack felt Ianto stiffen beside him at the woman's dismissive tone, but it was Toshiko who spoke up. "You're kidding, right? Ianto could've been a professional if he'd wanted."

"Yeah," Owen said. "I keep telling him he needs to get famous so he can introduce me to Angelina Jolie."

Ianto rolled his eyes in irritation, but the faint blush told a different story. "It's almost an imperative that dragons sing," he explained, leaning slightly over the table in order to avoid anyone overhearing, even though the pub was still fairly empty. "We have songs for everything – "

"Is that why the coffee is so good? You sing over it?"

"Stuff it, Owen," Ianto demanded good-naturedly. "But yes, that's the reason I enjoy singing, it's because it's in my nature. And I'd never do it for financial gain. It's not like I need all that much to live."

Jack rested his hand on Ianto's leg, under the table, squeezing slightly in support. He knew that the dragon was still unsure of where he stood with Gwen; the ex-PC still didn't seem to trust him, and Ianto was afraid that it would affect their work. Jack was hoping that, if Gwen saw Ianto as a normal person, then she might be on the road to acceptance.

If not, then she'd just have to get over it.

"But we have to lubricate the pipes a bit before he'll actually do it," Jack added. "Which is why we begin the annual pub crawl here, and then move on to somewhere with the proper set-up. Gotta get a few pints into Ianto first…"

"I don't see what the big deal is to get me out in public, and on a stage," the dragon said, miffed.

"It's fun to get you in front of a crowd," Owen answered. "You embarrass easily."

"Although," Toshiko said, "if you listen closely you can hear Ianto singing while he works. I'm sure he does it at other times, too."

Jack remembered the last time Ianto had sung for him, and his body reacted to that recollection. That had been the night he'd told Ianto that he'd loved him, and the dragon had said it in return. That song had been beautiful, and it had added something to their lovemaking that Jack couldn't name. It wasn't just that Ianto _sang_; it was the power behind it, especially when he was singing in the dragon tongue.

"I heard him singing in Latin once," Jack volunteered.

"Like a religious song?" Gwen asked, curious.

Ianto shook his head. "I was born in the 19 BCE. It would be another 60 plus years before Britain would come fully under Roman occupation, but there'd been invasions since Julius Caesar first set foot here, about 30 years before I was born, so Latin was a known language by the time I was learning my first songs. My father was very well-traveled, so I learned not only Latin, but Egyptian, Hellenistic Greek, and Persian…although, I've pretty much forgotten the Persian. And this doesn't count the old British and Welsh dialects. My father, himself, spoke a dozen languages, but they're all dead and gone now, except for snatches in books."

Jack could hear the sadness in Ianto's tone, and once again squeezed his leg in sympathy. Jack himself had lost so much in his long life, but that didn't even come close to comparing what Ianto had.

A warm hand clasped his, returning the touch.

Gwen looked as if she'd been smacked in the face. "You're…really that old?"

"I told you he was," Jack snapped, angry that she'd obviously dismissed a lot of what he'd told her about Ianto.

"It's just that…" Gwen looked lost for words, and it made Jack want to mentally mark his calendar. "You're not human; how can you sit here with us, pretending to enjoy our company?"

"Pretending?" Ianto questioned, surprised. "I'm not pretending anything. You're all my team…my friends. Okay, Owen is a bit of a twat – "

"Smile when you say that, Dragon Boy!"

" – but, on the whole, I do like you all, and I enjoy spending time with my friends."

"How can you even relate to us?" Gwen went on. "I don't understand it."

Jack opened his mouth to call her off, but Ianto answered first. "I can relate to you, because I was raised around humans. When my family was murdered, it was a human family who took me in and cared for me. I have to relate to you, because I can't relate to anyone else. Does that answer your question, Gwen?"

"Ignore her, Ianto," Toshiko urged, glaring at the woman from across the table. "She doesn't understand because she doesn't _want_ to."

Gwen looked angry, but Jack jumped in. "We're all teammates here, and we all need to get along if we're to survive. So just leave it, Gwen. If you can't think of Ianto as a friend, then at least consider him a teammate. That should be good enough. Now," he changed the subject, "I'm done with my drink, and I think it's Ianto's round. Same again?"

* * *

><p>Another pub later, and the team found themselves faced with the actual karaoke equipment, placed on a small stage near the pub's bar.<p>

By then, three of the four of Jack's teammates were pleasantly tipsy, while Owen was clearly on the way to being shit-faced. The medic really couldn't hold his liquor, despite his protests to the contrary. Gwen was a bit giggly, and had a tendency to grab onto Jack's arm at random moments, which he did his best to discourage since he didn't like the glares that Ianto would send her way when it happened and the last thing he needed was a cat fight. Not that Gwen would stand a chance, of course.

And if Jack was honest with himself he quite liked Ianto looking like that. It was just plain sexy and made him want to yank the dragon into the nearest mens' and have his wicked way with him.

The dragon himself was already humming silently, and looking very mellow…when he wasn't giving Gwen the evil eye. Jack knew it wouldn't take much to get him up on stage when the singing started. He knew he was playing dirty, loosening Ianto up by plying him with beer, but then Jack didn't play fair at times. They didn't often get this chance to relax in their jobs, and he intended that everyone would take advantage of the lull. The Rift might blow up again tomorrow, but tonight Jack was determined that his team enjoy themselves.

The drinks were served – Jack getting Owen a water, in order to curb his medic's binge – and he was listening to Ianto tell Toshiko a joke about a dragon and a maiden when the first person went up to sing. Jack had to admit; he loved karaoke. It took balls to get up in front of an audience, and nine times out of ten the person doing the singing couldn't carry a tune in a bucket.

He elbowed Ianto, interrupting his story. "You gonna sing?" he asked.

The dragon looked put out. "You poked me for that?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Well, yeah. We're in a karaoke bar, after all. I thought that was the point."

"I think you should sing together," Toshiko suggested, grinning like a maniac…which was a very scary look for her.

Ianto grinned as well, but his was more of a mellow thing, his eyes lighting up at the idea. "I'm willing."

Jack was going to deny doing it, but Owen spoke up. "Bloody hell, can't get away from you two for even a night, can we? Always so fucking lovey dovey at each other – "

"Owen!" Gwen smacked him, causing him to slide into the wall at his shoulder. "You're drunk and seeing things. There's nothing going on between Jack and…Ianto, yeah. You're crazy!"

Jack ground his teeth. Ianto looked livid, and he was opening his mouth when the immortal decided he didn't want the wrath of the alcohol-buzzed dragon to come down on their newest member. "Actually, I'd love to sing with Ianto." He grabbed the dragon's hand, pulling him out of the booth. He got a fine sense of satisfaction seeing Gwen's gobsmacked look.

They waited until the man was done – Jack wanted to snicker at his extremely unsexy version of _Do Ya Wanna Touch Me_? – and then took the tiny stage together. They went to the monitor, and began searching through the songs.

"How about this one?" Jack asked, pointing.

He was favored by a raised eyebrow. "No, Jack. I will not sing _Endless Love_. Not in a pub full of drunken Welshmen."

Jack pouted. His choice had been influenced by Gwen's words. He really didn't know what she had against Ianto, although she'd either started to realize that the dragon was there to stay and was getting used to working with him, or was getting very good at hiding her true feelings. But Jack wasn't ashamed of how he felt, and wanted to show it.

Okay, maybe _Endless Love_ was a bad choice in that particular place…

"How about this?" Ianto asked.

Jack looked over his shoulder. "Are you trying to tell me something?" he asked, his voice going low. He wasn't familiar with the song, _Don't Go Breakin' My Heart_, but didn't want Ianto to even think he'd do something like that.

"It's not what you think," Ianto assured him, "but okay."

"Hey…" Jack grinned, indicating one he did know.

Ianto frowned. "It's not a duet."

"It can be!"

Jack looked at his lover; Ianto was smiling slightly. "All right," he agreed.

That was what Jack was waiting for. He queued it up, and they both grabbed microphones, Jack beginning to enjoy himself as the music started.

Jack started off.

"_You're just too good to be true.  
>Can't take my eyes off you.<br>You'd be like Heaven to touch.  
>I wanna hold you so much.<br>At long last love has arrived  
>And I thank God I'm alive.<br>You're just too good to be true.  
>Can't take my eyes off you."<em>

Ianto rolled his eyes, getting into the spirit of the song.

"_Pardon the way that I stare.  
>There's nothing else to compare.<br>The sight of you leaves me weak.  
>There are no words left to speak,<br>But if you feel like I feel,  
>Please let me know that it's real.<br>You're just too good to be true.  
>Can't take my eyes off you."<em>

Jack smiled, and they both joined in on the chorus.

"_I love you, baby,  
>And if it's quite alright,<br>I need you, baby,  
>To warm a lonely night.<br>I love you, baby.  
>Trust in me when I say…<br>Oh, pretty baby,  
>Don't bring me down, I pray.<br>Oh, pretty baby, now that I found you, stay  
>And let me love you, baby.<br>Let me love you."_

He wanted to laugh, looking over at their teammates. Gwen's mouth was open, and she was doing a really good imitation of a goldfish. Owen had cadged Ianto's pint, and was busily inhaling it. Toshiko though…she had the dopiest expression on her face, like she was seeing the most romantic thing imaginable. Maybe he should have left her his handkerchief…

They continued to sing. Jack playfully bumped Ianto's hip, getting the dragon to move a bit. Ianto laughed, and together they went into the next verse, singing to each other, and Jack was simply loving the look of pure freedom and joy on the dragon's human face. He wished he could see that all the time, and he slipped his arm around Ianto's waist as they slid into the chorus once more, Ianto's almost growly baritone meshing with Jack's tenor as they sang to each other.

They actually got an ovation as the music faded away. Ianto looked out over the crowd and blushed, Jack simply dipped into a low bow, putting the mic down and pulling his lover off the stage and back to the table.

"That was amazing!" Toshiko enthused, as Jack did, indeed, hand her his handkerchief. The technician wiped her eyes, smiling sappily.

Gwen was still looking shocked, and Ianto playfully reached across the table and pushed her mouth closed. "You'll catch flies," he told her.

"Fuck," Owen snarled drunkenly, "didya haveta make a scene? I'm fuckin' embarrassed to know ya both."

"Get over it, Owen," Jack told him calmly.

Gwen was looking between Jack and Ianto. "But…" she seemed at a loss for words.

Jack smirked. "What can I say? He's irresistible."

"But he's – "

"Gwen Cooper," Jack warned, "If you finish that sentence…" he let the threat fade, as he casually grabbed Ianto's hand under the table.

Jack knew that he and Ianto hadn't broadcast anything, but for Gwen to seemingly dismiss it out of hand…he didn't want to be irritated, but he couldn't help it.

A squeeze of his hand brought his attention to Ianto. The dragon was still smiling softly, his eyes glowing in the dim lighting. Jack returned it, once again realizing just how much he was in love with the dragon, and he couldn't imagine why he'd ever tried to fight it. He'd been a fool, and it hadn't been a hard choice at all, to pick staying with Ianto over going with the Doctor when it was time.

There really was no choice at all.

"Let's say we get our team poured into cabs and head back to mine, now that you've heard me sing?" Ianto suggested.

"I like how you think, Ianto Jones," Jack said happily. "At least Owen needs to sleep it off."

"You're not kidding," the medic popped up. "God, I hope I'm drunk enough to forget what happened tonight. If not, I'll be hitting the Retcon in the morning."

"I'll see that he gets home," Gwen volunteered quickly. She got up from the booth, dragging a swaying and complaining Owen with her.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Toshiko snorted, loud enough for the other woman to hear. Gwen flushed slightly as she pushed Owen in front of her, and toward the exit.

"That was a bit catty, Toshiko," Jack commented, smirking.

"Don't tell me she didn't have it coming," the technician snarked, draining her drink.

"I didn't say that. I just said it was catty." Jack had known for a while that Toshiko had had rather misplaced feelings for Owen, but she seemed to be getting over it. Which was a good thing; she could do so much better.

"Come on, Tosh," Ianto encouraged. "Let's get you home."

Jack stood, and the dragon followed, his hand on Toshiko's elbow to balance her. She wrapped her arm through Jack's and together the three of them left the pub. The cold air hit like a hammer as they left the warm air of the pub, and Jack shivered despite his heavy greatcoat. It didn't matter how many centuries he spent in Cardiff, he still wasn't used to the freezing weather.

They got Toshiko into the SUV, and Jack jumped into the drivers' seat, getting the vehicle started and turning the heat on. He knew it didn't bother Ianto, but he knew he was cold, and if he was then Toshiko was as well.

"You know," she drawled from the back seat, "you guys are my best friends."

Jack wanted to laugh, but stifled it; she was starting to get into the maudlin phase of drunkenness, and it was entertaining. Ianto grinned over at him from the passenger side, and rested his warm hand on Jack's leg as they pulled away.

"It didn't take any pseudo-mystical dragon to tell me that," she went on. "We've been through a lot together, and you saved me. I love you guys."

"We love you, too, Tosh," Ianto responded seriously.

Jack barely kept the grin off his face. Toshiko was an adorable drunk, and Ianto was just tipsy enough to go all cute.

He could feel the dragon's natural body heat on his thigh through his trousers, and it distracted him from the rambling conversation his Second and technician were having. If he'd had to choose someone to be his and Ianto's confidante, it would have been her, so in that respect the Earth Dragon showed perfect taste.

Jack still wasn't at all sure about this whole Earth Dragon thing. Certainly there were things out there that he didn't know about, but some sort of ancient dragon spirit was somewhat beyond him. He was having enough trouble accepting the concept of magic…but then, Toshiko had seen and spoken to it, so Jack couldn't deny what had happened. He'd seen the mark that the Great Dragon placed on her back; if Jack was sure of one thing, it was that Toshiko hadn't had a tattoo before that night, and now she did. Hell, she didn't strike him as the type for it, and so he had to accept that. Jack still couldn't believe that she'd do something like this so willingly.

If he hadn't loved her before, he certainly did now.

Together the two escorted Toshiko up to her door when they arrived at her flat. She hugged them both fiercely, then let herself in, the last thing Jack seeing was her brilliant smile.

And then, he suddenly found himself with an armful of Welsh dragon, who was doing his best to remove his tonsils with his tongue.

Jack moaned into the kiss, Ianto's mouth hot against his. Heat pooled deep in Jack's groin, and it was all he could do to push Ianto away. "Not here," he said, when Ianto tried to reattach himself to Jack's lips. "Let's go back to yours, okay?"

"Sorry," the dragon said, panting. "I've been wanting to do that ever since we sang together. Do you have any idea what that meant to me? Even though it was a human song?"

He'd only really done it to spite Gwen, but Jack's heart warmed at the dragon's words. He knew how important singing was to Ianto. "I hope to sing with you again sometime," he murmured, taking Ianto by the elbow and leading him out of the building.

"Count on it," the dragon said. "And, one day, I'll sing the Song of Commitment to you."

The captain smiled softly, his heart swelling in happiness He'd never expected to feel this way about anyone, and he couldn't believe that Ianto really wanted to commit to him like that.

He was in serious danger of getting very sappy.

Jack bundled him into the SUV. "Now," he went on, as Jack got into the drivers' seat and restarted the engine, "why don't we get back to mine, and I'll show you just how much it meant to me that you want to sing with me?"

"I think that's a brilliant idea." It was Jack's turn to put his hand on Ianto's thigh, as he aimed the vehicle toward the dragon's house, happy that they'd come through so much to get where they were.

They loved each other, and for now everything was just fine.


	48. For Sale to the Highest Bidder

For Sale to the Highest Bidder

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, but I wish I did.

Author's note: Here's the Dragon-Verse version of "Random Shoes". I warn you: I tore this episode apart. Literally. This is just one part, and that almost seemed a bit too much to me, to be honest. I really didn't care for this episode at all, and I think this proves it. Hope you like it.

* * *

><p><em><strong>4 December 2007<strong>_

_Well, this couldn't be right_.

Ianto Jones stared at his computer screen, puzzled by what it was showing him. He sat back in his chair, chewing his thumbnail idly, and he kept his eyes on the eBay page as if glaring at it would change what it said.

Pushing his chair back, the dragon headed up to Jack's office. The door was open, which meant either Jack wasn't busy, or he wanted to be interrupted. From the files Ianto had taken in there just that morning, he was guessing the latter.

And yes, his lover was seated behind his desk, twiddling a pen in his right hand, while his left ran through his hair roughly. If Ianto had to guess, he would say that Jack had hit the requisition form that UNIT had sent over…

He cleared his throat, and the sound caused Jack to look up so fast he actually pulled his own hair. Cursing in a language that Ianto didn't understand, Jack took his hand from his head and grinned wryly. "Have you come to save me from my own personal Hell?" he asked, almost begging.

"Actually," the dragon said, coming to sit on the desk next to Jack's chair, after moving another file, "I wanted to know if you'd been approached by Eugene Jones lately."

Jack frowned. "Not recently. I think the last time was that hair dryer he thought was some sort of jetpack."

Ianto nodded; that tallied with his own memory. Most of the time, what Eugene managed to find was useless junk, but he knew enough to always ask Torchwood about it first.

Eugene was one of the very few people out there who had more than a passing knowledge about what Torchwood was. Usually he'd have been Retconned, but he'd proved useful at times, having contacts in the local science fiction community and knowing just how to keep his ear out for anything unusual showing up. While he'd never fit into Torchwood itself, Eugene Jones was very keen on doing what he could to help.

"What's up with Eugene?" Jack asked.

"Apparently, he has a Dogon Sixth Eye for sale on eBay."

Jack's eyebrows shot up. "And he didn't bring it to us first?"

"That was my first thought."

Jack swiveled toward his computer, bringing up the latest internet scans. Toshiko had set up a program that would, using a set of keywords, flag anything that might be of use to Torchwood. Ninety-nine percent of what was found was a waste of time, but every once in a while something would turn up that would be of interest.

That was how Ianto had found the sale; it was his job to go through the nights' findings, and see if mainframe had marked anything they should check out. They'd really been keeping a lookout on eBay recently, with the spate of Sixth Eyes showing up since Canary Wharf. Many of them had gone to buyers in Belgium, but Ianto knew for a fact that Henry Parker had also purchased one. They weren't dangerous really, but for Eugene to have bypassed Torchwood to put it up for sale…

"Yep," Jack said. "That's a Sixth Eye all right. And it's getting some pretty heavy bidding."

"I'd really like to know why Eugene put it up for sale, instead of bringing it to us."

"You and me both." Jack leaned back, looking up at Ianto. "I take it you want to go and talk to him?"

Ianto nodded. "It's pretty slow today, and I'd like to know if he suddenly has some issue with us."

"And here I was going to send everyone home early, and get in some private time with my favorite dragon."

"I thought I was your only dragon?" Ianto teased.

Jack leered. "Well, there's that too…"

"Tell you what," he said standing upright, "why don't I make you a cup of coffee before I leave, and if you have that paperwork done when I get back we can…celebrate."

"I like the way you think, Mr. Jones."

"I hope that's not the only thing you like about me."

Jack's eyes turned mischievous. "There's quite a list."

Ianto chuckled. "I should hope so." He leaned over, pressing a quick kiss to Jack's lips. "Back soon."

* * *

><p>Ianto arrived at Passmore Telesales just as shift was changing. He sat in his car and waited, finally seeing Eugene and three others exiting the building. The dragon recognized them as Eugene's friends, from the background check they'd done when the young man had shown up on their doorstep looking to show them something alien he'd found.<p>

He watched as they separated, and Ianto got out of the car, walking toward Eugene. He was seen almost immediately, and Eugene stopped in his tracks, confusion on his features. "This is a first," he said when Ianto was within earshot, "you lot have never come to me before."

"Do you have a moment?" Ianto asked.

Eugene shrugged. "Sure, got nothing else planned. There's a coffee shop just on the corner." He waved his hand down the street.

The aforementioned coffee shop was a Starbucks, and Ianto barely managed to bite his tongue on how he felt about them. He ordered a smoothie instead of coffee, taking a seat at a table with Eugene, who'd bought the most expensive and most doctored-up coffee he could when he'd discovered that Ianto was buying.

Ianto didn't beat around the bush. "I wanted to talk to you about the alien eye you have up on eBay."

Eugene spluttered into his coffee. "You watching me, or what?"

The dragon didn't answer, letting Eugene think what he wanted.

The young man let the silence lay there for a few seconds, then he blurted, "I woulda given you guys a chance, but that new bird of yours sent me away when I showed up a couple of days ago. She told me you weren't interested."

Ianto frowned. There was only one new 'bird' that he knew of. "And you didn't think to come to the Captain or I?"

Eugene shrugged. "She's one of yours; figured she knew what she was talking about. Besides," he grinned, "I'm getting tons of bids on it. Got plans for that money!"

"What if I offered you more?" Ianto really didn't want to pay too much, but a part of him felt it was his fault in some way that Eugene had been turned away. He hadn't gone over that with Gwen, so she hadn't known that the young man was a contact.

"As far as I'm concerned," Eugene said, standing, "you lot lost your chance. I think I wanna wait and see what sort of bids I get for it."

Talking his coffee, Eugene left, and Ianto sighed. Jack was going to love this.

* * *

><p>"Gwen!" Jack called, leaning out of his office door and bellowing across the Hub. "Get in here please."<p>

Ianto had been correct; Jack hadn't been at all happy about what the dragon had said. But, he was like Ianto, and really couldn't blame Eugene for trying to sell it elsewhere when he'd been sent away. In fact, he'd promptly put a bid in himself, which surprised Ianto; he hadn't known that Jack had had an eBay account, although he certainly should have guessed.

"You wanted to see me?" Gwen asked, leaning into the office.

"Come on in and have a seat," Jack invited. He leaned back in his own chair, while Ianto had taken up a position against the cabinet behind the desk.

Gwen did so, looking confused. "What's up?" she asked, curious. She glanced between the pair of them, and Ianto couldn't help but notice how the friendliness toward Jack changed to chilliness as those eyes rested on him.

"A couple of days ago," Jack began, "were you approached by a young man saying he knew all about Torchwood?"

The woman looked thoughtful. "Yeah, I seem to remember something like that happening when I was up at the pastry store getting donuts for the team. This guy came up to me, told me he knew I was Torchwood, and saying that he had something we might be interested in."

"What did you tell him?" Ianto asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Just that I didn't know what he was talking about," she answered, frowning. "He seemed pretty harmless."

"And you didn't feel you needed to report it?" Jack inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"We got that Weevil call out just as I was getting back," she defended herself. "Honestly, it just slipped my mind."

"Anytime that happens, you need to tell either Ianto or I about it," Jack said. "Torchwood might be a really badly-kept secret in Cardiff, but if someone actually approaches you and says they know you're with us, and then offers you something, we really need to know about it."

"Like I said," she repeated, "the kid seemed harmless. Probably just some nutter who thinks he knows something, but doesn't."

Jack sighed. Ianto could understand his frustration. "Your judgment would be wrong in this case, Gwen. That young man was Eugene Jones, and he's a contact of ours. He usually shows up when he finds something potentially alien that we might have missed coming through the Rift. Sure, most of what he has is junk, but this time he had a very interesting item with him. When you brushed him off and forgot to tell us, he put it up on eBay for sale."

"It's not entirely your fault," Ianto hastened to add, as Gwen was opening her mouth to speak. "We didn't tell you about Eugene or the fact that members of the public will sometimes come forward with potential alien tech. But, he could have also been someone who had it out for Torchwood, or someone wanting to infiltrate us, and we need to know of anything suspicious that might occur. Something bad could have happened."

Gwen looked like she was going to say something, but she simply nodded. "You're right, of course," she answered. "If it happens again, I'll let you know."

"Thank you, Gwen," Jack said.

Ianto couldn't believe it was that simple. If he knew one thing about Gwen Cooper, was that she always had something to say, some rationalization that would cast herself in a better light. Yet, in this case, she was acting perfectly agreeable.

He was very tempted to pull his gun and demand to know what alien race this was, and what they'd done to the real Gwen Cooper.

"Can't we get the tech from him?" she asked. "Maybe appropriate it and then Retcon the man?"

No, this was Gwen all right. Ianto felt distinctly relieved.

"In a case like this, no," Jack answered. "Too many people have seen the item, and while I'm sure Toshiko wouldn't mind crashing eBay – "

"Because she's evil that way," Ianto smirked.

" – it's just too much to do in order to cover up one simple artifact," Jack finished, rolling his eyes. "The best thing for it would be to either bid for it ourselves, or wait to see who does buy it and get it from them."

Ianto knew what he wanted to do: bid for the item. Eugene might have been a bit flighty and too much into conspiracy theories but he was useful, and the last thing the dragon wanted to do was alienate – no pun intended – a potentially valuable resource. And, if word got back to the same circles Eugene traveled in that Torchwood had treated him badly, a source of information could very well dry up.

Gwen might not have been aware of what Torchwood was before she came to work for them, but that didn't mean others didn't.

"That's all, Gwen," Jack dismissed her. "You can get back to work."

"Maybe I can help – "

"No, that's not necessary," the captain said. "Ianto and I will take care of it."

Gwen pouted, but she left the room. "What do you want me to do?" Ianto asked, turning to his lover.

Jack put the tip of his pen in his mouth, clicking it absently against his teeth. "Monitor the bids," he finally said. "I think getting it from the highest bidder is the best thing to do. Once it's been purchased and Eugene's posted it, we can trace it back to where it's going. Then we can get it and Retcon the new owner."

Ianto nodded. It was the best plan they had. "And what about Eugene? If he gets a good price on the Eye, then chances are he might go straight to an online auction from now on."

"We'll have to think of a reason for him not to. I don't want to lose him, even though he's more a hindrance than a help most of the time. There's that off-chance that he could have something valuable."

"Like the Eye."

"Exactly."

* * *

><p><em><strong>6 December 2007 <strong>_

Once again, Ianto found himself at his computer, surprised at what he found there.

_Who would want to pay fifteen thousand pounds for a Dogon Sixth Eye?_

He couldn't understand it. Even at the height of the Belgium bidding wars, an Eye had only gotten as high as three thousand. This seemed too incredible to be real.

He needed to check this out…

"Hey, Tosh?" he called, getting up and heading over to the tech's station.

"Hey, Ianto?" she echoed, turning and favoring him with a smile.

He rolled his eyes playfully. "Have you got a minute?"

"Anything for my favorite dragon."

"I should hope I'm your only dragon," he retorted, recalling Jack saying something like that not all that long ago.

Toshiko clouted him on the shoulder lightly. "Silly. What can I do for you?"

"How would you like to hack eBay for me?"

Her face lit up. "Are you kidding? I haven't done that in ages."

"I thought you might enjoy that." He explained to her what had happened. "I'd like to see if you can find out just who's doing all that high bidding. It just seems extreme for a Sixth Eye."

Toshiko turned back to her screens. "Easy peasy. You could have given me a bit more of a challenge, you know."

"You're the best, Tosh."

"And don't forget it," she answered playfully, already beginning her work.

Ianto smiled, then headed up to Jack's office. He wasn't there, so the dragon used his own unique sense to discover just where his lover was.

Jack was on the firing range, taking practice with the Weevil-shaped targets. Ianto watched as he held his Webley comfortably, hitting each and every thing he aimed at. But then, with over one hundred years of experience, Ianto would have been very surprised if he wasn't an expert marksman.

"Enjoying the view?" Jack asked, lowering his weapon and removing his ear defenders and safety glasses.

"it is rather nice," Ianto admitted, coming fully into the room.

"I'm glad you think so." With a sudden movement, Jack had Ianto pinned against the wall, and was kissing him quite passionately, slipping his tongue into the dragon's mouth and exploring every inch within.

Ianto moaned; he couldn't help it. Dragons didn't kiss, and it had been Jack who'd taught him just how pleasurable it could be. Now, he couldn't get enough, and he returned the kiss just as passionately.

Eventually though, he pulled away. "Sorry," he panted, "business before pleasure."

Jack looked disappointed. "You're no fun."

"That wasn't what you said last night."

His lover's eyes went a bit glassy as he recalled just what had happened the night before. "You have a point. So, what brings you down here, if it wasn't for a quickie on the gun range?"

He explained what he'd found, and Jack whistled. "That's a bit much for a Sixth Eye."

"I know," Ianto answered. "Which is why I asked Tosh to poke around a bit, see if she could find out just who the bidders are."

Jack laughed. "The last time Toshiko hacked eBay she ended up with those silver Manolo Blahniks and a Bekaran deep-tissue scanner."

"She really looks awesome in those shoes."

"And Owen didn't complain about the scanner." Sliding his gun back into its holster, he ushered the dragon out and into the corridor. "It'll be hard to get a bidder that high to forget just what he spent fifteen thousand pounds on."

"And if we intercept the mail," Ianto added as they headed up to the main Hub area, "then it would make just as big a mess. I'm fairly sure that Eugene would figure out it was Torchwood pretty quickly. He might seem scatterbrained, but he's really very intelligent." The dragon had seen his grades, and was still surprised that he hadn't become some sort of mathematician instead of working in an office. "We could always just let it go." They'd done that, with the ones after Canary Wharf; they simply hadn't had the resources to intercept them all.

"That's an option," Jack said slowly. "But I'm really interested in knowing just who thinks an Eye is worth that much."

Ianto had to admit, that he was curious about it, as well. "Someone who apparently doesn't know just what one does, I should think."

"Or someone who just wants to collect alien artifacts, no matter the cost. There are a few out there."

The dragon nodded; that was certainly true. He could name three off the top of his head.

They arrived up into the main area, and the first thing that greeted them was Toshiko, looking extremely pleased with herself. "Here," she said, handing Ianto a post-it note.

"That was quick," he answered, taking the offered note.

"Please," she said dismissively. "It's not like they're UNIT. I could hack eBay with my eyes closed."

He couldn't help but grin as he glanced down at the note.

Ianto frowned. There was a list of five names; two were his and Jack's, and one was Henry Parker's…big surprise. But the other two…

"I know these names," he muttered.

Jack rested his chin on Ianto's shoulder, looking at the note as well. "They aren't any of the bigger collectors, I know that much."

"I can tell you, if you want," Toshiko offered, her expression smug.

Ianto rolled his eyes in fond exasperation. "I'm quite sure you can."

"Cheeky," the technician accused playfully. "Anyway, I'm not surprised you think you know them…they showed up on Eugene Jones' background check – "

_Of course_. Ianto cursed himself for not realizing it sooner. "They work with him. They're his friends." That epiphany was followed up with, "There's no way they can afford to pay so much for that Eye. Where did they get the funds?"

The smirk on Toshiko's face was priceless. "They didn't."

* * *

><p>It hadn't taken Toshiko any time at all to track down Eugene Jones, just by using his mobile phone signal. Ianto parked his vehicle in the lot at the Happy Cook restaurant, glancing in through the establishment's windows in order to try to catch a glimpse of his quarry.<p>

There…he could just make out Eugene, sitting in a booth with his so-called friends. Ianto wondered how Eugene would feel, once he found out that they'd bid on the Eye, in order to build up the price, only to misbid and win, although they didn't have the money to pay for the item. Ianto had a feeling a friendship was about to be ruined, and those two only had themselves to blame.

As he watched, he realized the moment Eugene found out; a fight started, with one of the men – Josh, he thought – reaching across the table toward Eugene. There was a scuffle, and somehow Eugene ended up outside, tackling the would-be thief and grabbing what had to be the Eye.

The dragon was getting out of his car, in order to go to Eugene's aid, when the young man shoved something into his mouth…_shit, he didn't just swallow it, did he?_

And Eugene was gone, running toward the main road.

Ianto followed, easily catching up with Eugene's out of shape friends and passing them. He wanted to catch up to the young man; he had no idea what sort of effect actually swallowing a Sixth Eye would have, but he didn't want to risk it. He'd have to get Eugene back to the Hub, in order for Owen to remove it as quickly as he could.

And, truth be known, he was actually a bit grossed out by it.

Eugene was only about ten yards ahead of Ianto when he hit the road.

But he obviously didn't see the car coming toward him.

Ianto cursed. He wouldn't be able to get there in time…unless…

He transformed, launching himself forward as his wings were springing from his back. With a loud roar, the dragon flew toward his target, grabbing Eugene in his claws just as the moving vehicle would have struck the fleeing man.

Brakes squealed as the dragon flung himself and Eugene into the grassy verge between lanes, rolling so that he wouldn't land on the frail ephemeral, all the while thinking that Jack was going to kill him for this.

* * *

><p>Eugene was awestruck by the Hub…until Owen snuck up behind him and sedated him.<p>

"And you Retconned the witnesses?" Jack asked, leaning on the rail overlooking the autopsy bay.

Ianto sighed. "Yes, Jack. I did. I _can_ to my job, you know."

The immortal turned to regard him. "Hey, I'm not calling you down for saving a life. I just wanted to make sure we don't get reports all over the internet that there's a dragon in Wales. We don't want a repeat of what Archie had to go through."

The dragon winced. Archie up at Torchwood Two had had to recently deal with an American film crew out to investigate Loch Ness. It wouldn't have been so bad if Archie hadn't had to actually coax the real monster into hiding for the duration…

Owen was examining Eugene under one of the many scanners. "I can't believe the prat swallowed it. His gag reflex must be non-existent."

"Can you get it out?" Jack asked, turning back to the procedure.

"I'm gonna have to operate," he answered. "There's no way something that big is coming out on its own."

"I can make the cover story that he was hit by a car, and had to have emergency surgery," Ianto suggested.

"Sounds good. Have Toshiko give you a hand with the hacking. And tell her I know about the Jimmy Choo's, and that I think they'll look great with her lavender dress."

"I don't see why Tosh gets the good stuff," Owen groused, as he began prepping for surgery.

"When you can cover your tracks the way she can, I'm sure you will," Jack said serenely. "Besides, I don't think those new shoes will look as good on you."

"Isn't that an abuse of Torchwood resources?" Gwen asked, joining them at the rail.

"It's only abuse if you get caught," Jack answered.

"But…you know about it…"

"However, I didn't catch her doing it. As far as I could know, she bought those shoes quite honestly. "

"That's splitting hairs!"

"They're my hairs to split." Jack shrugged. "Toshiko earns her perks…when you earn yours, I'm sure I'll be convinced not to catch you as well. It's like me not catching Owen with all that online porn he doesn't watch while he's supposed to be working."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Harkness," Owen denied, not even trying to sound innocent.

"Just so long as no alien tech leaves the base," Ianto put in, "and no one gets hurt. Now, I'm going to go and plot with Tosh. We'll get those hospital records set up by the time Owen's done retrieving the Eye."

The dragon turned and headed over to Toshiko's station, where she was working as if she hadn't just overheard everything.

* * *

><p>The Dogon Sixth Eye sat on Jack's desk, glittering innocently. It had taken Owen about an hour to remove it from Eugene's stomach, and they'd managed to get the young man moved to hospital before he could wake up. Ianto had overseen the use of Retcon; they had a liquid form that could be injected through an I.V. for special occasions, but Jack didn't like it, as it was a bit more watered down than the tablet form.<p>

Ianto had also installed surveillance equipment throughout Eugene's house, Jack managing to get Mrs. Jones out for the length of time it took to make sure they would always know what Eugene was up to. They didn't want a repeat of what happened, and besides Ianto wanted to make sure the Retcon held. Since Eugene already knew about Torchwood, all they really needed to do was make certain he didn't remember his rescue by dragon. And, if he did, Ianto would just have to deal with it.

Toshiko hadn't bothered to erase the eBay auction; Eugene would remember that, but as far as anyone was concerned he'd been ripped off by his once-friends. They remembered everything; they'd been too far away to see Ianto change to a dragon, and so they'd only used enough Retcon to set Torchwood's versions of events. The Eye would have been discarded during the emergency surgery.

"You know," Jack mused, staring at the Eye, "it's amazing what trouble a simple thing like this can cause."

The dragon leaned against the desk, in his favorite position. Everyone else had been sent home, and he was just waiting for Jack to hand over the Eye so he could file it away in the Archives. "I know," he said. "People are so…I don't want to use the term 'gullible', but that's pretty accurate."

"Oh, I don't know. I think they just want some sort of proof that human-kind isn't the only life form out there. It's almost like having a fear of being alone."

Ianto could certainly understand that. Being alone wasn't a pleasant thing. Although, now that he had Jack, he didn't have to worry about that any longer. He might not be a dragon, but Jack was as close to a mate as Ianto might ever have. And, with what Toshiko had shared with them after the visitation of the Earth Dragon, he knew they'd been meant for each other.

It made the knowledge that, some day, Jack would most likely break his heart two more times a bit more bearable.

"Let me put that away, and then we can go back to mine," Ianto said, straightening. "I feel like cooking tonight."

Jack grinned. "Sounds like a plan. I'll have everything shut down by the time you get back."

Ianto used his handkerchief to pick up the Eye, then headed down toward the Archives. A part of him wanted to use it, to look back on his life and see it more clearly; but another part really didn't want to relive it. Such things were best left in the past.

He found a small containment box, put the Eye inside, and then slid it into place on the shelf where it would remain.

Then Ianto headed back upstairs, and back to his future.


	49. Gypsies of the Rift  Chapter One

Gypsies of the Rift - Chapter One

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine, and never will be.

Author's note: Here is the first chapter of Gypsies of the Rift, the Dragon-Verse version of "Out of Time". Hope you like it!

I do want to thank everyone who have read, reviewed, alerted, and added to favorites. It means a lot that you're enjoying it enough to do so.

* * *

><p><em><strong>18 December 2007<strong>_

"There's going to be a Rift spike," Ianto announced calmly.

Jack glanced at his Second, then reached for his coat. Ianto's sense when it came to the Rift was always accurate.

"How can you _know_ that?" Gwen demanded, swiveling in her chair.

Ianto simply smirked, and Jack knew he was enjoying giving Gwen grief. Besides, she'd been there long enough by now to realize that Ianto's predictions were spot on.

And then, the alarm announcing a Rift spike went off.

"You are so good," Jack purred, walking up behind the dragon and breathing into his ear.

Ianto shivered slightly; Jack wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been standing so close. "I do my best, sir," he answered, voice pitched low and those lovely Welsh vowels a bit pronounced than usual.

Jack chuckled, ignoring the irritated look in Gwen's eyes. He pretty much ignored anything like that from her anymore. He moved around Ianto, heading toward Toshiko's station. "Whatcha got, Toshiko?"

"Major Rift spike over a private airfield on the outskirts of Cardiff," she reported. "Air traffic control reports an unidentified bi-plane suddenly appearing in a flash of light."

"That's our cue," Jack said. "Owen, Ianto…with me. Toshiko, find out what you can when more information comes in. Gwen, I want you to coordinate from here."

Gwen didn't look happy, but she logged into her computer and put her earpiece in, as Owen grabbed his kit and Ianto shrugged his coat on. It looked like it was going to be an interesting day, after all.

* * *

><p>By the time Jack drove the SUV onto the tarmac at the small airport, the plane had already landed and three people had disembarked; two women and a man, each dressed in an old-fashioned style, and if Jack had to guess he would have put the time somewhere in the 1950's. As he parked, he could hear Ianto speaking into his comm. to Toshiko, giving her the name of the plane, <em>Sky Gypsy,<em> and the call letters on the tail.

Jack couldn't help but admire the plane. It was a de Havilland Dragon Rapide, if he wasn't mistaken. He'd personally never flown one, but he was aware of their reputation for being well-made, sturdy aircraft. He'd seen a couple during the War, when they'd been impressed into service, but if he wasn't mistaken this was one from a later period, although he thought it must have been somewhat older than the time its passengers seemed to be from.

The three climbed from their vehicle, Owen and Ianto flanking Jack as he strode toward the new arrivals. One of them – the older of the two women – saw them, and stepped forward, holding her hand out. "Apologies about the unplanned touchdown," she said, as Jack offered his own hand. She had a firm grip, and if Jack was any judge from the calluses on her fingers and palm then he'd say she'd been a pilot for quite a while. "But we hit some rotten turbulence." She was very attractive, with dark hair and what he considered traditional private flight clothes, including heavy leather jacket.

"Captain Jack Harkness," Jack introduced himself.

"Diane Holmes, pilot," she replied. "Where are we? Is this some sort of secret base? I don't remember an airfield here."

Jack was about to answer when the older man moved forward. "Is everything all right?" he demanded. He perhaps in his mid-fifties, dressed conservatively.

"How long before we take off again?" the younger woman added. "It's just that my uncle's expecting me." She was pretty, and Jack guessed in her early twenties.

This was part of the job Jack hated. But, at least they were intact, and he didn't have three new residents to set up on Flat Holm. "When did you take off?" he asked Diane.

She considered. "About half an hour ago."

"What date?"

Diane looked confused by the question. "Today. December 18th."

"Which year?" Jack could understand her confusion, but he needed to pinpoint exactly _when_ they'd come from. "I really need to know."

The pilot glanced toward the man, who was frowning. Then she turned back to Jack. "Nineteen fifty-three," she answered slowly.

"All right." _Fifty-four years_. Well, it could have been worse. "Let me introduce two members of my team: my Second-in-Command, Ianto Jones, and my team medic, Dr. Owen Harper."

"Were any of you hurt?" Owen asked, stepping forward with his medical kit.

"No," Diane answered. She reached into the pocket of her jacket, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. She lit one, and Jack could see her hand shaking just a little. "Would someone please tell us what's going on?"

"That's going to be a bit hard to explain," Jack said, "and maybe more difficult to believe. Let's get your plane taken care of, and then we can talk."

"But we need to take off again," the man spoke up. "We can't hang around here, waiting for you to decide when we can leave."

"I'm sorry, Mister…"

"Ellis. John Ellis."

"Mister Ellis," Jack said, "I'm sorry but we can't allow you to leave yet. We'll explain in more comfortable surroundings, all right?"

"Don't forget your luggage," Ianto added. "We'll find you somewhere to stay for the duration."

_The duration_. Jack could appreciate Ianto not wanting them to panic, but he knew the dragon was well aware that their 'guests' wouldn't be going back to their home time.

"Jack," the dragon said, "why don't I stay behind and get Miss Holmes' plane put away safely? I'm sure she'd want it to be well taken care of."

What Ianto didn't say – and what Jack read into the suggestion – was that Ianto was going to stay behind to get readings to send back to Toshiko. "That sounds like a plan," he answered.

"I usually do checks on my plane myself," Diane protested. "Are you a qualified pilot, Mr. Jones?"

Ianto's face held that professional mien that he usually wore when dealing with the public; but Jack knew him well enough to see the barely-there smirk on his lips. "I can assure you," he said smoothly, "that I have more hours in the air that you do, ma'am."

She looked at him skeptically, as Jack choked on his laughter, trying to appear serious. These people were lost, and it wasn't appropriate to make fun. "What Ianto doesn't know about flying isn't worth knowing," Jack backed him up, biting the inside of his mouth in an attempt to sound conciliatory. He heard Owen mutter something about "mouthy dragons" as he helped their 'guests' gather their things together. "You can trust him."

"Look," John Ellis snapped, dropping his case onto the tarmac with a dull thud, "I'm not going anywhere until I know what's going on."

The man looked like he wanted to punch something, and Jack really couldn't blame him. He'd wanted to get them back to the Hub before explanations, but he wasn't about to put up with a belligerent passenger back to Torchwood.

"And why did you ask what year it was?" the girl asked, her eyes wide with confusion. She clutched her suitcase to her as if it was her lifeline…and Jack realized that it really was.

He glanced at Owen and Ianto; the medic leaned against the SUV, his eyes darting between Jack and Diane Holmes, while Ianto stood next to the de Havilland's wing, resembling nothing more than an obedient employee waiting for instructions. But he nodded slightly, letting Jack know that he supported whatever decision his leader would make.

Jack took in his three Rift refugees. John Ellis was glaring at him, as if he could pull answers out of Jack's head; Diane Holmes stood expectantly with her arms crossed, her cigarette dangling from one hand; and the girl – Jack would need to get her name for Toshiko and Gwen to do a search on – resembled nothing more than a deer caught in the headlights.

"All right," he said. "What I'm about to say might seem insane, but it's absolutely true. There's a Rift in time and space that runs through Cardiff, and your plane got caught up in it. You may have taken off in 1953…but you landed in 2007."

"You're right," Ellis shouted. "That's bloody insane!"

"_Jack,"_ Toshiko's voice sounded through his comm., _"I have information on that plane. It was lost soon after take-off on 18 December 1953, assumed gone down in the sea. Pilot Diane Holmes and passengers John Ellis and Emma Louise Cowell were presumed dead, no bodies ever found."_

So that left these three never going home again. "Thanks, Toshiko," he replied. He turned back to their 'guests'. "I've just heard from another of my team," he said, "and she says that your plane went down, and you were all presumed dead. Nothing was ever found." He hated being so blunt, but at least John Ellis was going to confront him; he could tell by the stiff set of the man's shoulders.

"How can you have heard from anyone?" Diane asked. To Jack's surprise she didn't sound like she wanted to pick a fight with him; she was actually curious. "You don't have a radio."

"I have a communications unit in my ear," Jack answered, turning so she could see the device looped over his ear. "It can receive, and send."

She came closer, looking at the comm. "Amazing," she breathed. "We certainly don't have anything like that when we came from."

"You can't believe him!" Ellis exclaimed. "It's some sort of trick!"

"And why would we want to trick you, Mr. Ellis?" Ianto asked calmly. "We don't have any reason to. Take a good look at our vehicle; certainly you don't have anything like that back in 1953?"

"I think they're telling the truth, Mr. Ellis," the girl – Emma – answered. She looked terrified.

"There's no need to be frightened," Jack tried to reassure her. "We're going to make sure you settle in here."

"Why can't we go back?" Ellis challenged.

"According to what my tech just said," Jack reiterated, "your bodies were never found. That means you never went back."

"I think we should take this back to our base," Ianto suggested. "This isn't something we should be discussing out in the open like this."

"Ianto's right," Jack said, grasping the straw his lover was giving him. "We should finish this up somewhere more comfortable."

"Who are you exactly?" Ellis demanded.

"The less you know about us, the better," Jack answered. "Now, why doesn't Ianto get the plane taken care of, and in the meantime we'll all head back to our headquarters? We can talk more there."

Somehow they'd managed to wrangle their visitors into the SUV, although John Ellis had insisted on sitting up front with Jack. Surprisingly Owen hadn't argued, climbing into the back and sitting between Diane and Emma.

Before leaving Jack pulled Ianto aside. "Hurry back to the Hub," he told his lover. "We're going to need your identity-making skills, and I have a feeling Ellis is going to be the difficult one of this bunch. I think between the two of us we can settle him down."

Ianto nodded. "We do have more experience in living in different times than the others. I think you're right; I don't think he's going to accept this easily."

"There's also something else," Jack didn't want to bring it up, but he didn't want Ianto to take it the wrong way. "I'm not sure how any of them will take a same-sex relationship – "

The dragon rolled his eyes. "You don't have to say a thing. We'll keep it professional until we know more about their attitudes on that subject. You forget Jack…while I might have been somewhat sheltered in Ddraig Llyn, I do know something of such prejudices." He smirked. "Sometimes I wish we lived back during the height of the Roman Empire, where everyone would _expect _us to be together."

Jack leered. "I'd love to see you in a toga."

"I do have the legs for it," Ianto agreed, his eyes sparkling. "You know, I do believe I have one in my hoard…"

Jack's heart beat faster as his blood threatened to flow south of his belt buckle. "You up for a little role play then, later on?"

"I think I could be convinced." Ianto winked. "Now, go and take our guests back to the Hub. Oh, and I'll have Tosh call the hostel we sometimes use. We can put them up there for a couple of days, that'll give me time to either prepare one of our safe houses, or find them something permanent. I take it you want the usual procedure?"

Jack nodded. "Set it up with Toshiko. You know what to do. I'm just glad we're taking them to the hostel, and not Flat Holm."

"You and me both. Now go, before I give into the impulse to kiss you, whether they see us or not."

Jack grinned. "Hold that thought for later. I'll take you up on it when we get done for the night." With that, he turned on his heel and headed toward the SUV, where everyone was waiting.


	50. Gypsies of the Rift  Chapter Two

Gypsies of the Rift - Chapter Two

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, sorry to say.

Author's note: Here is the second chapter of Gypsies of the Rift, the Dragon-Verse version of "Out of Time". Hope you enjoy it!

* * *

><p><em><strong>18 December 2007<strong>_

It took no time at all for Ianto to arrange for the _Sky Gypsy_ to be moved and stored in a spare hangar.

He put the charges on the Torchwood accounts, assuring the airfield's owner that no, he didn't want to sell what was a near-pristine vintage aircraft, then dismissed the workers who'd gotten the plane settled. Once he was alone, Ianto pulled the scanner he'd taken from the SUV and began going over every inch of the plane, relaying the readings he was getting back to Toshiko at the Hub.

"_I'm getting your signal," _Toshiko said through his comm. _"They're really from 1953 then?"_

"Afraid so," he answered, leaving the plane's tiny cockpit where he'd begun taking readings, and retreating to the passenger section. "We'll need to put the usual protocol into effect."

"_I'll get the templates set up for the new I.D.'s, then get started on backgrounds."_

"Thanks, Tosh. Could you call our usual hostel? I don't know how long they're going to need housing, and if it's a while before we can get them off on their own then I'll need to set them up in one of the safe houses." Torchwood had several houses and flats around Cardiff, some of them occupied, others not. Ianto would want to find out their reluctant guest's preferences before even thinking about preparing a place for them to stay, and then he'd have to get it ready.

"_No problem."_

"You're a star, Tosh."

She chuckled. _"I bet you say that to all your dragon-friends."_

Ianto smiled. "Nope, only the ones named Toshiko Sato." Another thought came to him. "Oh, one more thing…Jack and I are keeping our relationship on the quiet until we can figure out how our new guests will react…" He had to admit it would be a bit hard; he and Jack had gotten used to the little looks and touches that they'd gained since they'd officially gotten together.

"_Makes sense. Okay, I won't be surprised if the pair of you suddenly go all professional on me."_

Ianto knew he could count on Toshiko. "Let me finish up here, and then I'll head back."

"_See ya." _

The dragon signed off, finishing up with his scans then leaving the hangar, making sure the door was closed behind him. He pocketed the key, making a mental note to give it to Diane when he saw her.

It was better to call a cab than fly back to the Hub. Usually Ianto didn't take air traffic control into consideration, since he flew well below radar and there was little chance he'd be picked up over the skies of Cardiff. But, being so close to even the small control tower for the private airfield he decided it wasn't worth it to take a chance. Besides, he didn't want to have to Retcon their entire shift in case they got curious about the dragon-shaped radar signal they could possibly pick up.

It gave him time to think about their new arrivals. Especially John Ellis.

He was certain Jack was right: Ellis was going to be the one who would have the most difficulty in adapting. While they hadn't had all that many people come through the Rift unscathed, from experience it was usually the older ones who had trouble. Ianto didn't worry about Emma Cowell or Diane Holmes – being women, chances were they'd enjoy the freedoms women had in this time and would make the most of the opportunities presented them. They were also young enough to take things in stride, and Ianto didn't think there would be any issues getting them settled into their new lives.

But John Ellis…yes, they'd have to watch him. But between himself and Jack, Ianto felt they might be able to help him. If worse came to it, then there was always Flat Holm, but neither wanted to go to that option. Ellis wouldn't really belong there, if he was only having issues with adapting.

They'd have to play it by ear, and see just how the man took everything.

By the time he arrived back at the Hub, most of the inevitable doubts had been allayed. Ianto made his way to the boardroom, and as he approached he could hear Ellis speaking.

" – about us," he was saying, "What happened to everyone else? Our families?"

That was a standard question, and one that Toshiko would have begun to handle. He swung into the room, eying the tableau before him: pictures were spread all over the table, and Ianto recognized several of them: photos of Cardiff's development, various celebrations, and some blueprints that, once he got closer, looked to be of airplanes.

Gwen was sitting next to Emma, a folder in her hand. Ianto knew what was in it; a part of him wasn't so sure Gwen was the one to share such delicate information with the young woman, but even he had to admit the ex-PC did care…if a bit too much. Besides, wasn't it training for the police to be able to pass along distressing news?

Owen and Diane were huddled together, and he thought he caught Owen asking her if she had a boyfriend. Ianto rolled his eyes. Of course Owen would ask that sort of thing.

John Ellis was standing behind Toshiko, who was working at her laptop. Ianto joined them, and saw that she was running a search for the man's family.

"My son," Ellis said. "Alan Ellis. He was born on the 6th of April, 1937, 14 Park Place, Grangetown. He might still be alive."

"The archives in the 50's weren't that well documented," Ianto answered softly. "But we'll keep trying. Won't we, Tosh?"

Toshiko nodded. "If it's there, I'll find it."

"But tomorrow," Jack interrupted, from where he stood at the front of the room. "Right now, you need to get some rest."

"Good idea," Ianto agreed. "We have a place set up for you temporarily, then we'll see after something permanent in a couple of days."

"Ianto," Jack said, "you and Toshiko keep getting their new identification ready. Gwen and I will make sure our guests get to the hostel and get settled in. Owen, make sure everything is fine on their physicals."

The dragon nodded. He really wanted to get the basics set up for their guests by tomorrow, so they'd at least have money to see to their needs. The sooner things were set, the sooner they could get started on their new lives.

The cog door had barely closed when Toshiko was rounding on Ianto. "So…what do you think?"

The dragon sat down at his station, starting his work on the I.D.'s the three new residents would need. "Think about what?" he asked, even though he had a feeling he knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Don't play stupid with me, Ianto Jones!"

Ianto couldn't help but smirk as he brought up his database of usable names. "No, I play stupid with Owen, because he believes it since he has an intimate familiarity with that state."

"Oi!" the medic shouted from the autopsy bay. "I heard that, Dragon Boy!"

Toshiko snorted. "What's your impression of our three Rift-ugies?"

Ianto's eyebrows shot up. "Rift-ugies?"

"Hey, it works! But you're avoiding my question."

"No, I'm not." He sighed, leaning back in his chair. "I'm not sure what to think yet. It's going to be hard on all of them, but I think John will be the most affected."

Toshiko nodded. "That's the impression I got as well." She got up from her own workstation and came to lean against Ianto's desk, staring down at him. "And did you notice Owen's already sniffing around Diane?" she murmured, low enough not to travel to the working medic.

"I did, yes." Ianto didn't approve of it, and he didn't bother to hide his feelings from his friend.

"How can he sink so low?" she whispered urgently. "Diane just suffered a shock and has lost everything she's ever known, and he's already moving in on her. How can he even think about playing into that vulnerability? And I don't care if she's a hotshot pilot who's busted some world records, you can't go through what those three have and not be affected."

Ianto, though, could see Owen trying it on with Diane very easily. After all, this was the man who used an alien pheromone spray to go out on the pull, and who'd entered into an ill-advised affair with Gwen even knowing that she has a live-in boyfriend. No, the dragon knew it was very much in Owen's character to attempt to seduce Diane despite what had happened to her.

He didn't want to say as much to Toshiko; Ianto was well aware of his friend's crush on the medic, although recently there seemed to be an ending to it, after her experience with the Arkateenian pendant. He certainly hoped she'd seen just what sort of person Owen Harper was, and although he was a damned good medic he wasn't the best human being.

Ianto still considered him a friend, though. He'd served his punishment over the pheromone spray, and had sworn it would never happen again. Both Ianto and Jack had believed him. But that didn't mean that Owen was going to slow down his sexual escapades.

Ianto thought it horribly ironic that, the most promiscuous person in the Hub was the one to give Jack grief over his own exploits.

"All we can do is keep an eye on them," he told her. "I don't like it any more than you do, but there's no evidence that he's actually going to try anything…at this point. I'll talk to Jack and see what we come up with."

Toshiko nodded. "Maybe I'm blowing it out of proportion – "

"And maybe you're not. I'm just glad you felt you could talk to me about it."

"A part of me feels like a tattletale," Toshiko sighed. "But I don't want anyone hurt."

"You and me both, Tosh."

* * *

><p>"There you are."<p>

Ianto didn't even have time to set foot into the house before he was being engulfed in a patented Jack Harkness bear hug. The dragon returned it, glad that Jack was here.

Eventually, he pulled back. "How'd it go with our guests?" he asked, heading into the kitchen to get something to drink.

Jack followed him. "They're settled in," he said, leaning against the refrigerator. Ianto was used to him watching as he made coffee, and kept his eyes on his work. "According to Gwen, Emma had a bit of a breakdown, but that's expected. Of them all, if seems like Diane is handling it the best at the moment."

"And John?" the dragon pulled two mugs down from the cupboard.

Jack sighed. "He really wants to find what's left of his family. I'm dreading it if there isn't anything left. I get the feeling that's what he's holding out for."

Ianto nodded, watching the coffee brew. Both he and Jack had experience with losing your family, and John would need a lot of support if that were the case. 'We've got the I.D.'s done. Tosh did some research on our new friends, and set them up with backgrounds that are close to what they've already done. I also want to set Diane up with an updated pilots' license, but at the moment she doesn't know anything about current planes. Would you be willing to show her around a modern set-up?"

Jack nodded. "I have a buddy who might be able to get her time on a training simulator. It would depend on what sort of planes she wants to fly."

"Are you familiar with what she flew in with?"

"Oh yeah. De Havillands were real workhorses…and would it surprise you to know that that type of plane was a Dragon Rapide?"

Ianto laughed. "You're kidding."

"Nope. Although when they were impressed into the British Air Force they were renamed the Dominie. They had a Gypsy Queen engine…which is probably where she got the name from. I've never personally flown one, but I've seen them up close."

He should have known Jack would have that information. There really wasn't much about aircraft that Jack didn't know; he'd even been consulted on UNIT's air carrier, _Valiant._ "So maybe a license to pilot classic aircraft?"

"That might work. But I don't want to talk about business anymore."

Ianto suddenly found himself with a warm Jack Harkness plastered against his back. He didn't even bother to hide his grin. "The coffee is almost done." He'd meant to talk to Jack about Owen, but if his lover was in this sort of mood…it could wait.

"Screw the coffee," Jack growled, burrowing his mouth past Ianto's collar and stroking his tongue against his all-too sensitive human skin.

Ianto couldn't help but shiver. "So you'd rather screw the coffee than me?" he murmured. "I think I'm jealous."

"Turn off the damned machine and take me to bed," Jack ordered.

Ianto was more than willing to obey.


	51. Gypsies of the Rift Chapter Three

Gypsies of the Rift - Chapter Three

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, not at all

Author's note: Hey, everyone! Welcome to the next chapter of Gypsies of the Rift, the Dragon-Verse version of "Out of Time". Thanks to everyone reading and commenting, and all the alerting and adding to favorites. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

><p><em><strong>19 December 2007<strong>_

Jack stood, regarding his team and their new arrivals. He nodded to Ianto, who began passing out the identification that he and Toshiko had made up yesterday. Jack was proud of the work they'd done; but then, his Second and his technician worked well together, and they always did the best they could.

"These will be your means of identification," he said, as the three took the files Ianto handed them. "We've set up bank accounts for you but we'll give you an allowance so you can practice with the currency and money management."

He regarded each of them as they checked out what they'd been given. John didn't look at all happy, and Jack knew immediately that they were going to have issues with the man. Diane simply shrugged, although she seemed a bit disappointed; he wondered if it was because of a lack of pilots' license, but he and Ianto would talk to her about that later. And Emma appeared to be a bit excited, and it was at that moment that Jack knew he didn't have too much to worry about in her integration.

"David Ward," John said flatly.

"Sally-Anne Hope," Diane echoed.

"Deborah Morrison," Emma added. "And it's spelt how Deborah Kerr spells it."

Jack glanced over at Ianto, and the dragon shrugged, so he hadn't actually planned it that way. It had been a good choice though, judging from Emma's reaction. "Your background stories should incorporate the skills you already have. John, you could have run a corner shop." They'd talked a bit last night as John had unpacked at the hostel, and the man had mentioned that he'd done just that back in his old time.

John was shaking his head. "No," he denied, looking even angrier.

"We can fake references – "

"No!" John fairly shouted, interrupting. "You can't take away our names! For God's sake, they're all we've got left. It's my son's name! It's the name I had above my shop!" With that, he threw the I.D. he'd been holding back onto the table, and stormed out.

Jack sighed. He's been expecting that outburst, just from his expression on the man's face. In a way, Jack did know what John Ellis was saying; he'd given up his own name so long ago that he only half-remembered it. He made a mental note to tell Ianto what it was when he had the chance, then headed out after the furious man.

He found Ellis just outside, and the look he had on his face had Jack sighing internally. This was going to be so much harder than he'd thought. "All right," he capitulated, even though there were good reasons to give anyone coming through the Rift a new name, "you should keep your name." He really didn't want to give in, but he did want to save Ellis and help him as much as he could to fit in. "I'll have Ianto change everything back."

He put a hand on John's shoulder, trying to convey his support to the distraught man. John nodded, but Jack didn't miss the small gleam of triumph in his eyes. It bothered Jack; this wasn't some sort of pissing contest; this was an honest attempt to help him settle into this new time. He knew then that John Ellis was going to push them as hard as he could, to see how far he could get before they pushed back.

"Let's go back inside," he said, steering John back into the boardroom. On the way back in, he caught Ianto's eye once more, nodding slightly. Ianto raised an eyebrow, his eyes flickering to John, and Jack nodded once more, communicating that it was only John's identification that needed to be changed. The dragon returned the nod, indicating that he understood.

"Now," Jack said, once John was seated once more, "moving on…Ianto has agreed to take the three of you shopping, in order to give you first-hand experience with money and what you'll run into when shopping for yourselves."

That was Ianto's cue. He passed out envelopes, one to each refugee. "There is fifty pounds in each; I'd suggest using most of it for your food, then perhaps twenty pounds for luxuries, like cigarettes or magazines or such."

"Fifty pounds!" Emma squeaked. "My dad only made ten pounds a week!"

Ianto smiled. "Things are a lot more expensive now. Trust me; you'll see."

"I can't wait," she said, returning his smile.

"We'll also get you plenty of materials you can go over, explaining a lot of the changes that have occurred since your time," Jack went on. "So much has gone on, and you'll need to be aware of it."

Emma raised her hand tentatively. Jack hid his smile. "Yes, Emma?"

"Don't you mean Deborah?" she asked brightly.

Jack laughed. "Of course…Deborah." Thanks the goddess she was accepting things so easily.

"I was wondering…that thing Toshiko is using…that computer…could she show me how to use it too? I really want to learn."

"You mind, Tosh?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

In fact, Toshiko was beaming. "I'd love to. In fact, a lot of what goes on in the world today can be tied to our technology. Computers…mobiles…even today's vehicles all rely on technology that didn't exist in your time."

"And wait until she introduces you to online shopping," Ianto teased.

Toshiko threw him a mock glare. "Are you saying I should corrupt her with the internet, Mr. Jones?"

Emma giggled. "Yes, please do!"

John was frowning. "Is that such a good idea?"

"Well," Toshiko said, "you don't have to learn it if you don't want to, but I'm willing to show anyone who does."

Emma immediately shot up out of her chair next to Gwen, and went to stand behind Toshiko. After a moment Diane joined them, and soon all three were deep into the mysteries of the laptop.

Jack just hoped Toshiko didn't show them how to hack in anywhere.

* * *

><p>The scent of coffee pulled Jack away from the paperwork he'd been working on. He glanced up, and Ianto was there, holding a steaming mug in his hand. "You are a lifesaver," he said, reaching for it.<p>

Ianto handed it over. "You've said that before," the dragon teased, taking his usual place on the edge of Jack's desk. "I've finished remaking John's I.D."

"Good." Jack took a sip, and closed his eyes in appreciation. "And so is the coffee."

"He's going to be difficult," Ianto sighed.

"I know." Jack looked up at his Second. "I think I might have made a mistake on the identification issue." He'd been second-guessing himself ever since he'd realized that John had been pushing to see how far he could go.

"I don't see how you could have forced him to accept it," Ianto said.

Jack sighed. "It's like he's not even trying."

"We'll just have to help as much as we can. And we'll need to talk to Diane about her pilots' license. And…I have some concerns about Owen."

"What do you mean?" Jack frowned.

"I'm afraid he's going to try to make a move on Diane. I overheard him asking her if she had a boyfriend. And Tosh mentioned it to me as well."

"I guess this means him and Gwen are over," Jack tried to sound flippant, but failed.

Ianto rolled his eyes. "That was due to fail anyway. Now, I know Diane is a strong, independent woman – she'd have to be in order to achieve all she did – but I'm a bit concerned that she'd just had her entire world ripped out from under her, and she's going to be vulnerable for a while. And we both know Owen's attention span when it comes to his conquests…"

Jack understood. Certainly Diane was an adult, and could make her own decisions. But, as independent as both he and Ianto thought she was, there would still be some pitfalls that Owen could fall in to. "I hate to say this, but Diane is an adult. If she decides to go into a relationship with Owen, there really isn't a lot we can do about it." He held up his hand to keep Ianto from speaking. "But we can still warn Owen that we'll be watching, just to make sure she's all right. She seems to be so far, but you're right…this is a traumatic time. We don't want any of them overwhelmed by all the new circumstances they're finding themselves in."

He could tell Ianto didn't like that answer, but Jack knew he was right. They could help their three guests adjust to this time, but they really couldn't tell then what they could –and could not – do. Jack was well aware of Owen's propensities, but he simply couldn't intervene every time his medic went chasing another skirt. Not that he'd condone him hurting anyone, which was why he'd been so disappointed when he'd found out about the alien pheromones that Owen had taken from the Archives, but if Owen wanted to go after someone, there really was little Jack could do to stop him.

Ianto sighed. "I'll be the first to say that I don't care for the way Owen treats women. Perhaps that's coloring my judgment, I don't know. But if he wrecks Diane's integration into this time I will have words with him."

"That's only fair. We can't control our employees' private lives, we can only step in if it affects Torchwood business. While those three are dependent upon us to make sure they fit in, we really can't order them to do anything they don't want to."

"All we can do is give them the knowledge they need to survive," Ianto said, in tacit agreement with what Jack said.

"I know you don't like it…"

"Yeah," the dragon smiled self-deprecatingly. "Perhaps I'm simply being overly protective."

"Well, it's to be expected," Jack teased. "After all, you're the mother in this family."

Ianto narrowed his eyes at him. "Are you calling me a girl, Harkness?"

"Would I do that?" Jack asked innocently.

"You better not be, or else it's decaf…"

The immortal threw his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay! You can be the dad, then."

The smirk he got went directly to his groin. "Maybe I should prove to you just how much of a male I am?"

Oh, when Ianto growled like that…"You can prove it to me any time you want."

A knock at the door kept Ianto from making whatever comment he'd planned to. Jack glanced around his lover, to see Diane standing in the doorway. "Is this a bad time?" she asked slyly.

Well, at least one of their guests didn't appear to be bothered by him and Ianto, or least their banter. "Come on in," Jack invited. "We wanted to speak to you anyway."

Ianto stood, taking a place just behind Jack's left shoulder. Jack motioned Diane to the chair opposite his desk, which she took.

"I think we can guess why you wanted to speak to us," Jack began.

Diane nodded. "If you guessed it was about my pilots' license, you'd be right."

"Ianto and I discussed that last night, and while we know you're up on the de Havilland, we really didn't know what other planes you had experience in. We figured we could at least get you a classic flight license, until we could arrange for some training on current avionics. Which, I'll be honest with you, are about computers as much as flying these days."

She looked relieved. "Thanks, I didn't think you'd considered it. I just can't be grounded."

"I know how you feel." Jack did; he'd flown enough planes and spaceships to recognize that feeling. "I have a friend who runs a flight school, and I should be able to arrange some time on a flight simulator. But I do think it's a good idea for you to get the hang of some of our current technology first."

"Sure," Diane answered, smiling.

"Also," Jack added, "to tide you over until we can get the proper paperwork put through, I can arrange for you to fly with someone who's a classic plane enthusiast. Now, he doesn't know about the Rift so of course we can't tell him about how you got here, but we can come up with a story and he should be glad to take you up."

"I take it you fly as well?" she asked, sitting forward in her chair.

"I do, but I don't get much of a chance anymore," Jack admitted. "I'm checked out on several different classic craft, as well as a couple of the latest jets and even a couple of fighter planes." He didn't add the various alien spacecraft he'd flown, or about piloting the TARDIS. Nor did he add that he got the experience on the classic planes because he'd flown them during several wars.

Not to mention flying on a certain dragon. That beat any closed-cockpit flyer hands down.

As Diane went on to explain what she'd flown and what she'd at least been familiar with, Jack let his worry about her adapting fade. He thought she was going to be just fine in her new world.


	52. Gypsies of the Rift Chapter Four

Gypsies of the Rift - Chapter Four

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, it's not mine

Author's note: Next chapter up! Thanks to everyone again, you guys are amazing. Hope you like it!

* * *

><p><em><strong>19 December 2007<strong>_

It was late afternoon before Ianto got their three visitors bundled into his car and off to do their shopping.

He decided to take them to the nearest Tesco's; it would have the best selection, and it was closest to the Hub. Emma seemed excited about going; Diane did too, after her talk with Jack about her pilots' license. Ianto knew what it was like not to be free, and if he was any judge at all then he could safely say that, with a single bit of paper, they'd managed to ease Diane's integration that little bit more.

John Ellis, though, didn't act like he really wanted to go. The man was giving them nothing but problems; it was as if he'd decided he wasn't even going to try to adapt to his new circumstances, and was digging his heels in to keep things from going smoothly.

It was like the identification. Both ladies had accepted their new names – even if Diane thought Sally-Anne was a bit _girly_ – but Ellis was determined to keep his own. Ianto didn't see what the big deal was; he'd changed his name so many times over the centuries, he'd realized very early on that names weren't who a person was. It was what was on the inside; the personality, the intelligence, the _heart_ of a being that determined just who they truly were. Names were simply an identifier, nothing more. Ianto could have easily taken another back when it had come time to change once more, and he would still have been the same person he was now.

No, Ianto thought it was just the man wanting to argue about something else. The dragon really wanted to cut him a bit of slack, but if John wasn't going to help himself there really wasn't anything anyone could do for him.

The dragon parked his vehicle and they all got out. He ushered them forward; Diane approached the door first, and it slid open as she got closer.

She stopped, gasping. "How did it do that?"

"It's automatic," Ianto answered, and he couldn't help but grin at her surprise. "It knows you're there."

"But how?" The door began to close, and she stepped forward again. It halted its slide and whooshed back open once more.

"There are detectors," Ianto explained, "that emit radio waves, and when something reflects – "

"Bananas!" Diane interrupted in an almost-squeal, moving past the once- fascinating door and into the market proper.

It was funny that someone could be that excited about a yellow fruit. "Of course," he said dryly, letting the others in before him, "bananas are far more interesting."

Emma headed down the closest aisle, just staring at the items on the shelves. Diane stood in front of the display of bananas, and she lifted a bunch almost reverently, as if she was touching something divine.

"Look at all this!" John gasped. Ianto turned to look at him; for perhaps the first time since arriving in 2007, the man actually looked excited about something. "We'd just come off rationing in '53."

Ianto knew about rationing; even though Ddraig Llyn had been fairly self-sufficient, there'd still been things that they'd needed, and the dragon could remember never getting enough of certain items. He could certainly understand why this was such a surprise to all three. "Yes," he said, "humanity is a consumer society."

"It's bloody fantastic," John said in awe.

After the initial shock was over, the three Rift victims went wild.

Ianto found it almost too hard to keep up.

He found himself following Emma around. The young woman seemed absolutely captivated by the sheer number of types of candy there was. "How much food money do I have left?"

Ianto wanted to tell her she should be keeping track herself, but he was absolutely charmed by her child-like wonder…and over candy, of all things. "Fifteen pounds forty."

Emma promptly stepped up to the shelf, and began grabbing all sorts of candy, putting it all in her basket. Ianto wanted to laugh, but managed to keep it down to a broad smile.

She stopped, and looked at him expectantly. "Twelve pounds ten," he reported. "You know, you're going to ruin your teeth."

Emma rolled her eyes. "You sound like my Mum."

The young woman continued down the aisle, leaving Ianto standing there, wondering why people seemed to insist he was the mother.

Why couldn't Jack be the mother?

He caught up with her, as she made for where Diane was standing in Electronics, a DVD box in her hand. "They sell films in boxes and you can watch them at home!" she told Emma, grinning.

Emma was just as excited. "I love going to the pictures!" she enthused.

They start perusing the shelves together, chattering about movies they recognized, curious about the ones they didn't, and Ianto decided to leave them to it and try to find John.

He found the man standing next to a magazine rack, looking positively horrified.

When Ianto saw what he was holding, it was all he could do not to laugh at the man's distress, telling himself that back in the 50's cover models wore considerably more than the one on the magazine John was clutching.

"Good God," John breathed, his eyes wide as Ianto approached.

"Welcome to the wonderful world of scantily-dressed celebrities," Ianto deadpanned. Personally, he didn't quite understand it himself, but then the human form wasn't something the dragon was particularly interested in.

Jack's form, on the other hand…

No, he couldn't go there, not in the middle of Tesco's.

"There's children around," John said forbiddingly.

Ianto nodded. "I believe she's a children's TV presenter." He seemed to remember seeing her on telly one time, but wasn't all that sure of his facts.

John blanched, and he put the magazine back on the rack using two fingers, as if the thing would give him cooties or something equally vile.

* * *

><p>Check-out was almost a let-down, after the manic behavior his charges had displayed while shopping.<p>

John went first, and he even bagged his own, seemingly surprised that a woman was going to do it for him. The plastic bags frustrated him for a couple of seconds, until he worked out how to separate them. Emma was next, sidling up next to Ianto and depositing her finds on the belt.

Ianto noticed the DVD within all the candy she'd picked up. "So you like musicals?" he asked, genuinely interested. Dragons were, of course, musical creatures, and anyone who enjoyed a good song ranked pretty highly in his book.

She nodded enthusiastically. "My best friend Kate and I saw _Calamity Jane_ five times," she answered. "I've got the LP."

Ianto returned her smile. He personally had seen the film, but then Jack teased him about his musicals collection. He made a mental note to see if he could find tickets to a local production for her.

Diane walked up to them, and she looked confused. She held a pack of cigarettes, as if she'd never seen one before.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, stepping past Emma to stand next to her.

She held up the pack. On it, in large words, was written 'Smoking Kills'. "What does that mean?" she asked.

Ianto explained.

* * *

><p>"I want to be let out at the stadium," John spoke up from the back seat, as Ianto drove back to the Hub. He'd stopped for a traffic light, and glanced up into the rearview at the man.<p>

"I don't think that's a good idea," the dragon murmured. "It's late, and you don't know your way around well enough – "

"It's my decision," the man said angrily.

The atmosphere in the car changed dramatically. Suddenly Diane and Emma both looked uncomfortable, and Ianto felt irritation.

Ianto slid his fingers over the child-lock mechanism that his car had come with; it had come in handy a couple of times, mostly while taking an inebriated Owen Harper home. No use taking chances, and Jack would have his hide if anything happened to any of them

"We're not that far from the Hub," Ianto tried to reason. "If you want to come back then, I can make sure you have bus timetables and maps, so you don't get lost."

"I'm perfectly capable of asking for directions," John answered hotly.

"I didn't say you weren't," Ianto said calmly. "I'm simply saying we can make sure you're prepared for your first solo foray into Cardiff."

John must have gone for the door handle; it wouldn't open, of course. "Am I a prisoner?" he snarled.

"No," Ianto said. "However I believe you're behaving irrationally. We're almost to the Hub now, and when we get back Jack will let you know if it's fine to let you explore on your own." The light turned green, and Ianto pulled the car forward.

"You're not my minders," John snapped. "I'm an adult, and I don't have to take orders from two men younger than I am."

The dragon wanted to chuckle. "Mr. Ellis, Jack and I are both much older than we appear. Now, since I was asked to take you to the market and then take you back to the Hub, with no stops in between. Certainly you wouldn't want me to get in trouble with my boss, would you?"

That seemed to shut the man up, and Ianto was grateful. He didn't know what the reason was for John wanting to get out of the car, but he wasn't about to let him out into a Cardiff that he wasn't familiar with. Anything could happen, and Ianto was responsible for their well-being.

Still, he thought it was past time he and Jack sat John Ellis down and talked to him.

They arrived back to the Hub with no more drama, for which Ianto was grateful. He ushered them all back through the garage, the ladies discussing everything they'd seen, while John Ellis looked very sullen. He stifled a sigh, heading up to Jack's office while Emma went to share with Toshiko and Gwen what she'd purchased. Owen cut Diane off from the rest of them, saying something to her that had her nodding her head. He wondered what that was all about; then dismissed it as best he could, remembering his and Jack's conversation from before.

Jack looked up from his computer as Ianto entered. "How did it go?"

The dragon took the chair opposite the desk; Jack raised an eyebrow at that, and Ianto smirked at surprising him by not taking his usual position leaning against the desk, within the immortal's reaching distance.

He proceeded to tell Jack what had happened at the store, then John's demands on the way back in. Jack leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled in front of him. His eyes were narrowed. "Sounds like we need to have a talk with John," he said, once Ianto was done.

Ianto nodded. "It's as if he doesn't even want to try to fit in. I don't know what we're going to do if doesn't at least meet us halfway."

"I really don't want to have to resort to Flat Holm," Jack sighed.

Even though Flat Holm was a triumph against old-school Torchwood, Ianto knew Jack didn't see it that way; he knew it was necessary, but it disturbed him to even have to have something like it. Ianto felt the same, and he felt just as badly for the Rift victims they had to send out there as much as Jack hated it. They both completely helpless in the face of the capricious power of the Rift.

John Ellis didn't fit into the damaged beyond repair victimology that were the souls they sent out to Flat Holm. He could take care of himself; he wasn't physically or mentally scarred, and could very easily fit in to today's society…if he only tried.

"I think we should talk to him," Ianto said. "Find out what the exact problem is. Perhaps we can help him if we knew what was going on…"

"I agree. In fact, it might be past time." Jack got up, heading toward the office door. Ianto stood, as his lover shouted out into the Hub proper if anyone had seen John Ellis.

"He was right here…" Ianto heard Toshiko answer.

The dragon cursed, as he followed Jack down to the tech's workstation. Gwen and Emma moved away as the pair arrived. "See if you can find him," Jack ordered.

Toshiko's fingers flew across the keyboard, and she frowned. "He's not in the Hub," she answered.

It was Jack's turn to curse. "He couldn't have gone through the cog door, we'd have heard it." The invisible lift wasn't mentioned, since none of the Rift refugees had known about it.

"He must have used the garage entrance," Ianto growled. There were alarms on that door; why hadn't they gone off when the man left?

"Looks like Ianto's right," Toshiko reported.

"But the alarm should have alerted us to Ellis' leaving?" Jack asked, echoing Ianto's thoughts. "And wasn't the door locked?"

"No," she said. "Those alarms only sound if someone comes in; not if someone leaves. I'm surprised you didn't know that."

"I didn't know it either," Ianto said angrily. How had he not known? "And I'm afraid I didn't lock it; I had my hands full of shopping and didn't expect the man to run off on us!"

"Okay," Jack snapped. "Toshiko, find him. I want to know what that man's up to." He strode toward his office. "And get an alarm on that door!" he shouted.

Ianto shrugged his coat back on. He was going with Jack; he felt responsible for what had happened, and wanted to get John Ellis back as soon as possible.


	53. Gypsies of the Rift Chapter Five

Gypsies of the Rift - Chapter Five

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it...more's the shame

Author's note: Welcome to another chapter of Gypsies of the Rift, the Dragon-verse version of "Out of Time". Thanks again for all your support of this and all my other stories. I appreciate each and everyone of you.

* * *

><p><em><strong>19 December 2007<strong>_

Jack was furious.

He wasn't mad at Ianto, who sat in the passenger seat of the SUV, looking pensive. A bit disappointed maybe; but then, how could the dragon have anticipated that John Ellis would duck out of the Hub? Yes, Ianto had explained what had occurred on their drive back from the market, but there wasn't any way to have known that the man would have just left like that?

No, Jack was mad at himself, for not realizing there wasn't an alarm on the garage entrance. He could have sworn there was…well, there would be, from now on. He and Toshiko were going to take the time to go through all the Hub defenses, and see what needed upgrading. He and Ianto had already taken care of the Retcon store, installing a motion sensor camera inside the cabinet. But they were catching things after the proverbial horse had left the stable, and that couldn't continue.

He was also angry at Ellis for pulling such a foolhardy stunt. Didn't the man understand that this was a new world for the three Rift victims? That things were very different than they'd been in the 1950's? Cardiff was a more dangerous place, and that didn't even include Weevils or other alien detritus. Ellis was so set on having his way that he couldn't see the forest for the trees.

"You got anything on him, Toshiko?" he asked into his comm.

"_He managed to get a cab on the corner," _she reported. _"I managed to get the number from the CCTV, and traced it back to the company. The driver hasn't reported in yet, but I've been able to track it in the general direction of Grangetown."_

"He's heading home," Ianto answered, before Jack could ask.

That made sense. "What's the address?"

"_John said 14 Park Place,"_ Toshiko said. _"I've downloaded the directions to the SUV's Sat Nav."_

"Thanks, Tosh." He thumbed off the comm., turning the vehicle toward their destination.

"He's looking for his family," Ianto murmured.

"He's not going to find them there," Jack said. "Toshiko already checked that particular lead out." He slammed his hand into the steering wheel. "Why didn't he trust us to find them for him?"

"He feels helpless and thinks he has to be doing something himself," Ianto murmured.

Jack opened his mouth to say something cutting, but he realized that Ianto was right. From what he'd seen of Ellis, the man was someone who was used to being in charge, who did things for himself instead of letting others do them for him. Having to sit and wait for news would have galled him. "He still shouldn't have snuck out on his own."

Ianto didn't say anything, and Jack snuck a look over at his lover. The dragon looked upset, absently chewing on his lower lip as he watched the scenery roll by. He didn't apologize though, and Jack was grateful; he didn't think what happened needed an apology, although Ianto had a right to be bothered by it.

The rest of the drive was made in silence, but it wasn't at all uncomfortable. It gave Jack a chance to think about John Ellis, and how best to help him. He knew his own unique experience with time travel could be used to draw a parallel between them, and perhaps it would be worth a shot. Jack figured that John would settle once they had some sort of idea what had happened to the man's family, and he only hoped it wasn't bad news. Either way, perhaps John would be able to move on, no matter what they found.

At one point Toshiko interrupted to say that the cab had, indeed, let John Ellis out at 14 Park Place. Jack thanked her, pressing down a little harder on the accelerator, wanting to get there as soon as possible.

He didn't know what they'd find, but a boarded up house wasn't it.

Jack climbed out of the SUV, Ianto at his side. The building that had once been the Ellis residence had long ago been abandoned; the entire neighborhood looked to have fallen on hard times, and it was reflected in the overgrown and ramshackle house. A garage with flaking paint was attached, and Jack had a sudden flash of John returning home from work, and parking his car in that very garage; of having a home life that was now gone and dust. He felt very sorry for the man, and hoped that they could somehow help him.

"Jack."

Ianto's quiet call brought the immortal from his reverie, and he turned to look at his Second. Ianto was staring up the street, and Jack could make out the familiar form of John Ellis, standing at the front door of a neighbor's house, speaking somewhat animatedly to the owner, who was standing out on the stoop.

As they watched, the homeowner stepped back inside and shut the door, and from the slumped shoulders Jack could tell that the news hadn't been good. He strode toward John Ellis, with Ianto at his side.

The Rift survivor saw them as they approached, and the defeated body language suddenly changed, becoming confrontational. "I had to do it," he snapped as they neared. "I had to find my family…find my son. You don't understand what it's like to lose everything you've ever cared for."

Jack felt Ianto bristle beside him. "You have no idea," the dragon answered quietly. "Your family is simply missing at the moment; I had to see my father, my mother, and my sister murdered before my eyes, before the killers left me for dead. So don't you dare judge us, John Ellis…don't you dare judge _me_."

Ellis recoiled from the intensity of Ianto's declaration. The dragon might not have raised his voice, but the sheer emotion that roiled through his words was enough for Jack to forgo any sort of restraint and put his arm around him, trying to comfort his lover. Jack, of course, knew the entire story, and knew how much more there was to it.

"Let's go somewhere else, somewhere less…open," Jack suggested. "We passed a pub not far from here; let's all get a drink."

Ianto nodded without hesitation, leaning into Jack and taking the comfort that was being offered. John glanced between the two, then stepped past them, heading toward the SUV.

Jack took that for assent. He reluctantly let go of Ianto and followed, with the dragon just a step behind him. John made it to the vehicle first, and practically yanked open the passenger side door then climbing inside. Jack rolled his eyes at the rather infantile behavior, getting behind the wheel as Ianto took the backseat. He glanced back into the rearview mirror, and saw that whatever anger Ianto had been feeling seemed to be gone, if the blandness of his expression was any indication.

As well as he knew Ianto Jones, Jack realized this was no sure sign of anything of the sort.

It was quiet on the drive to the pub, and this time it wasn't a pleasant silence. Jack was glad when they finally arrived, and he jumped from the SUV with alacrity. Ianto and John Ellis were with him as they entered the pub, and he ushered his companions to a secluded booth where their conversation might not be overheard.

Ianto volunteered to get the drinks in, leaving Jack and Ellis alone at the table. A football game was playing on the telly over the bar, and Jack found John's eyes tracking to it more than once as they waited.

A look of melancholy crossed the man's features. "Blackpool were 3-1 down," he said, apparently lost in a memory. "Then Stanley Matthews worked his magic – scored two goals in the last twenty minutes. Bolton lost 4-3. My boy was on his knees, punching the air…" he sighed. "The FA Cup live in my own living room. I charged the lads a shilling each to come and watch."

Jack didn't know whether to laugh, or roll his eyes. "Ever the business man."

John looked at him closely. "I don't think I noticed before…that's an American accent, isn't it?"

The immortal was well aware that his accent resembled what was now North American; in fact, he'd been told it had more of a Midwest United States sound. It really wasn't; while English wasn't his first language, when he'd learned it he'd unconsciously given the tongue a Boeshane accent, and it had stuck. Jack just felt lucky that it wasn't any more exotic.

He was saved from answering by Ianto's arrival with their drinks. Both John and the dragon had pints, while Jack had stuck with his usual water. Ianto slid in next to Jack, and he couldn't help but think it was to show a united front to their guest.

"John," Jack began, "you can't go wandering off. This is a new time for you, and there are things you don't know. Just let us find your family; we have the most advanced technology on the planet. You can trust us…if your son is out there, we'll find him."

The man looked like he wanted to argue. Instead, he took a swallow of his drink. Jack could practically see the cogs rolling in his head, as he considered Jack's words. "I'm not the kind to sit back and let someone else do what I should be doing."

"We certainly understand that," Jack answered. "But just running off isn't the answer."

"I wouldn't have had to if I'd been let off at the Millennium Center like I'd asked."

"No," Ianto snapped. "No, you still would have run off, only you were using looking at the stadium as an excuse to get away."

"Ianto was perfectly right in not letting you leave," Jack said. "He was only watching out for your best interests."

"My best interest is to find my son!"

"And you're not going to do that going door-to-door in your old neighborhood," Jack pointed out, resting his hand surreptitiously on Ianto's thigh, to try to calm his lover. It didn't help that he was angry himself, and Ellis was insisting on using the same arguments when they patently weren't going to work. "We want to help you," he went on. "We have experience in this sort of thing; let us do our jobs."

"But that's just it," John argued. "This is your _job_. To me, this is my _life_. There's no possible way you can understand what this is like!"

"But we can," Jack said. He took a deep breath and plowed on. "Both Ianto and I have experienced what you're going through right now. We know what it's like to be somewhere – and some time – completely different from what we're used to. So, we can sympathize with you, John. Believe me, we can."

Ellis' eyes darted between the two of them, as if sizing them up. "Did you fall through the Rift, too?" he asked suspiciously.

Jack glanced at Ianto; the dragon was once again wearing that bland mask that didn't give a thing away. But then, he wasn't exactly denying anything, either.

He turned back to Ellis. "Not exactly." He held his wrist out, showing his Vortex Manipulator. "I'm from the 51st Century," he admitted. "This used to be a time travel device…until it shorted out. I'm trapped here, just as you are. I've lost everything, just as you have: family, friends, home…all of it. But I've had to adapt to this time, just as you do. It's not going to be easy, but it can be done. You just have to trust that we know what we're doing…because we've been through all this before."

John looked a bit skeptical, but Jack thought he believed the story. He certainly hoped so; the only other person who knew the truth about him was Ianto, and it went against the grain to share so much with a near stranger. But Jack also realized that John thought he was completely alone; that no one could possibly sympathize with his own plight. They had to make him understand that that wasn't the case, and that they would do their best to get him acclimatized to this new time.

"And you?" John looked at Ianto, almost accusingly.

Jack felt Ianto tense up. "My story isn't important," he answered. "But what I told you was true: I lost my entire family to vicious killers, who also attacked me and left me for dead. I was found by my sister's ma – husband, and he took me home where I was able to heal. I'll never be over what happened; I remember the blood and the horror of that day, and the terror-filled screams of my mother and sister as they were butchered. And my father…well, they killed him first, knowing that he'd be the strongest of us all. He didn't have much time to react." Ianto took a shaky breath. "But I also remember the good times, like my sister's wedding, and my mother's singing, and my father's teasing Marc – my brother-in-law – about his terrible fashion sense. They'll always be with me…in my heart."

A single tear tracked its way down Ianto's cheek, and the dragon scrubbed it away roughly. Jack squeezed his thigh under the table, trying to transmit comfort through that touch. He knew how painful it was for him to talk about what had happened, even though it had been almost a thousand years ago.

"I know it's hard," Jack said, "but you need to let us help you. We'll do everything in our power to find your son, you have our word. "

Jack didn't add, that if the news was bad, then they would also help John Ellis grieve.


	54. Gypsies of the Rift Chapter Six

Gypsies of the Rift - Chapter Six

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine, never mine.

Author's note: Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there who celebrates it. I hope everyone had a great day. Thanks for reading and reviewing and such for this, and I'm thankful for you all.

* * *

><p><em><strong>21 December 2007<strong>_

Things seemed to calm down after his and Jack's talk with John Ellis.

Ianto should have known it wouldn't last.

The next couple of days were pretty quiet. Jack took Diane out to meet his friend – the son of one of the men he'd led in World War II – who ran a small flight school on the outskirts of Cardiff. According to Jack, the two seemed to get along like a house on fire, and Diane re-qualified quickly. Ianto was pleased to be able to hand the pilot her classic flight license the same day, and he was favored with a smile that told him just how much it meant to her. Jack told him later that he'd also arranged for a UNIT flight simulator to be made available as soon as Diane was up on some of the latest technical advances, so she wouldn't feel so out of place in it.

That was Tosh's bailiwick, and during the day when it was slow she showed both Diane and Emma around the internet, explaining many of the advances they'd need to know about to survive in the current world. Emma took to it like a duck to water, and it was no time before she was using the dedicated computer that Toshiko had set up for lessons, she and Diane 'ooing' and 'awing' over things they saw while surfing.

John, though, held himself separate from the others. True to his own word, Ianto made sure the man was supplied with bus schedules and plenty of fare, after a crash course on just what Ellis had to look out for. He also provided a mobile and showed him how to use it; Ellis seemed to be captivated by the small phone, and while he wasn't quick at learning it, he did get the simple functions down well enough that Ianto felt confident that he could call if he got into trouble.

Both Emma and John were still staying at the hostel. Emma had struck up a friendship with two girls who were also staying there, and enjoyed their company. John seemed to believe it was his duty to watch out for all three young ladies, and Ianto could tell that Emma was just about tolerating it. He'd decided to prepare one of the flats in their safe house program for Ellis, knowing the three would be more comfortable if he wasn't there. Ianto trusted Emma; she had a good head on her shoulders, and was adapting very well to her new circumstances.

To Ianto's disapproval Diane had seemed to have moved in with Owen. Jack's words about Diane being an adult stuck with him, even if he thought the whole thing was a bad idea. Owen seemed almost obsessed with her. To be honest, the dragon had never seen the medic acting like this over a woman before, and it disturbed him somewhat.

He finally approached Owen on it. He knew Jack had said he would mention it to the medic, but Ianto didn't know if he had or not.

The medic was in the autopsy bay, and Ianto leaned over the railing and watched him work. Owen was running some experiments, using rats, and seemed absorbed in his work. Ianto knew that Diane was with Jack, and knew this would be a good time to find out what was going on.

"You just gonna stare at me," Owen said, not looking up from his equipment, "or are you gonna say what's on your mind?"

Ianto took the invitation for what it was, and walked down into the bay proper. "All right, I will," he replied, coming to stand next to him. "I wanted to ask you what's going on between you and Diane."

"That's hardly any of your business," he said, anger coloring his answer. "That's personal and you don't need to know."

"Until she's completely settled into this time, it's my business because it's Torchwood business. And I don't want anything to go wrong with her being able to adapt and accept what's happened to her."

Owen snorted. "I think you're underestimating her, Dragon Boy. She knows exactly what she wants."

"And that's you?" Ianto didn't mean for it to sound accusatory, but he couldn't keep it in. "Owen, you approached her almost from the moment they arrived here. She's been through a traumatic experience. I don't want you to be taking advantage of her."

Owen glared at him. "Keep out of it, Ianto."

"I can't, Owen. It's part of my job to make sure nothing happens to prevent our guests from assimilating into the current time." He'd known that Owen would be defensive, and yet something about his attitude was irking Ianto. "If anything keeps that from happening – "

"You don't have to worry about anything. So you can just keep your nose outta our business. I don't ask you what you and Jack get up to – "

"Because we don't let it interfere in our jobs," Ianto snapped. "This…relationship you have with Diane is."

"How do you figure that?" Owen snarled. "I'm not hanging all over her in the Hub…unlike two others I can name."

"Diane is our responsibility." Ianto leaned closer, his voice going lower, letting his anger show in the growl that came out. "Until she can make her own way, she _is_ our job!"

"I think you're underestimating her. She knows what she wants, so you can just butt out of our business!"

"It's not your business when it looks like you're taking advantage – "

Ianto never was certain what happened next. All he knew was he suddenly slammed against the cold tile of the wall, Owen's arm across his throat, the man's face contorted with rage. Not that he could physically harm the dragon; it was the sheer surprise that kept Ianto from breaking the grip.

"You bastard," Owen hissed, practically spraying spittle on Ianto's face. "You know shit! I love her more than I've ever loved anyone before, and I'll be damned if I let anyone get between us!"

Ianto's eyebrows went up in shock. Owen Harper? In love? Certainly, anything was possible, and Ianto did know his history… "What about Katie?" he asked, curiosity outweighing his previous anger.

Owen looked like he'd been slapped; he backed away, releasing Ianto, who straightened his waistcoat after the mishandling. "Katie's gone," he muttered, suddenly looking very tired. "It's time to move on. You, of all people, should know how that is."

Ianto nodded. He did; he'd had more opportunities than most to do so. But he still couldn't shake the notion that Owen's behavior was just off, that the medic had gone from shag 'em and leave 'em to suddenly loving someone that intensely…just within days.

"Look," Owen went on, "I appreciate you trying to protect Diane and all, but we both know what we're doing. I don't know how or why it happened, but it has, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her."

"All right." There really wasn't anything he could say in the face of this declaration. "Then I apologize for intimating what I did."

"Nah, it's fine. I know my reputation, Dragon Boy, so I can understand why you felt you needed to stand up for her like that." Owen shrugged self-deprecatingly. "Just trust me, yeah?"

"With my life, you know that." It was true. While he and Owen would never been best friends, they did respect each other's abilities, and there wasn't anyone else Ianto would rather have with him if he was hurt in any way.

"Just not with the ladies' virtue, huh?" Owen snorted.

Ianto smiled slightly. "Well, maybe just this once."

"If I have anything to say about it, it'll be the last time."

Somehow, Ianto believed him.

* * *

><p>It was later in the evening, just when Ianto was thinking he and Jack might get out at a decent hour, when his mobile rang.<p>

He, Jack, and Gwen were the last ones in the Hub. Owen had left earlier, mumbling something about a date he had to get ready for. Toshiko had followed not long after; it was unusual to see her leave without a lot of convincing, but Ianto knew she'd still had some Christmas shopping to do. He thought it funny; someone so at home on the internet having to brave the crowds to finish up.

Gwen was in Jack's office; Ianto didn't know what they were talking about, but he could see Gwen laughing at something Jack said, leaning a little closer to him than what was necessary. It no longer bothered him that she seemed content to throw herself at his lover, because he knew she wouldn't get very far. Jack was undisputedly _his_, and Ianto was confident in their relationship. Yes, there was still that Tarot reading, but the dragon didn't think it had any more control over him. He knew how Jack felt about him. That would be enough to ride out whatever storm threatened them.

Ianto had finished the last of the Hub's shutdown for the night when the laughter came closer, as Jack ushered Gwen out of the office and into the Hub proper. "Go on home," the captain said. "I'm sure Rhys will have dinner ready, and it looks like it's going to be a quiet night."

"I can stay a bit if you need me to," she argued.

"Nope," Jack answered. "Ianto and I are just going to go back to his. I think it's my turn to cook – "

That was when Ianto's mobile rang.

The dragon frowned, pulling it from his pocket. He glanced at the display, and recognized the number of the phone he'd given Emma. He flipped it open. "Good evening, Deborah," he greeted, purposely using Emma's new name. She really seemed to like it, and Ianto called her by it whenever he could.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see he had both Gwen's and Jack's attention._ "Hi, Ianto," _Emma's voice said. She sounded angry. _"I can't stand it anymore! John's acting like my dad, and he isn't. I'm an adult, I can handle myself – "_

"Whoa," he interrupted the flow of words, "what happened?" This didn't sound good.

There was an audible sigh over the line. _"Okay…Jade and Alesha – the two girls in the hostel with us – decided that we'd have a few drinks to celebrate the season. We weren't drunk, we were just having a good time, when John comes in and starts scolding us like we were children. I know he thinks he needs to be looking out for us, because he's so much older, but really! I'm an adult, and I can decide if I want to have a drink with friends or not!"_

Ianto barely stifled his own sigh. It had only been a matter of time before the girls did something to get John's attention. "All right," he said. "I'll come over and see if I can straighten things out."

"_Thank you! I just don't know how much longer I can stay here…"_

"I'm on the way." He flipped the phone closed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. So much for a quiet night in…

"What's up?" Jack asked, looking concerned.

He told them what Emma had said. "I'll just head over to the hostel and see if I can't smooth things over," he finished.

"I'll come with you," Jack offered, ducking back into his office for his coat. "Then we can head back to yours afterward."

"I'm coming too," Gwen put in, making her way down to her station for her own coat.

Ianto frowned. "That's not necessary – "

"You might need a woman's perspective," she argued, "especially if John is determined to act all 'male' toward the girls. I don't think he quite gets this time where it comes to females."

She did have a point. "All right," he said, shrugging into his wool coat. "But I'm taking my car – "

"I'll follow in mine, then I can go straight home afterward."

"Fine." Ianto looked up to see Jack bounding from his office. He really hoped this was something they could handle quickly.

* * *

><p>The hostel felt almost like an armed camp…without the weapons.<p>

Ianto had briefly met Jade and Alesha, and they'd struck him as slightly wild yet, in the end, responsible young ladies. And they certainly had Emma's back, judging from the united front they were putting on for John Ellis, who was standing slightly apart with a forbidding look on his face. He looked surprised when he, Jack, and Gwen entered the house, turning to Emma and demanding why she'd called them.

"Because I'm tired of you acting like my dad," Emma answered.

"Someone needs to!" John fairly shouted. "You were drinking!"

"I had half a glass!"

"Enough to make a show of yourself!" He took a step closer. "We're not the same as them," he went on, dropping his voice to a confidential whisper. "We can't draw attention to ourselves. We can't trust them."

Ianto knew then that the groundwork he and Jack had set, had failed.

"No," Emma said, "it's not that we _can't_ trust them…it's that you _won't_. I do trust them, which is why I called."

John shook his head wearily. "This is why you need someone to look after you – "

"No, I don't. I'm an adult, and things are different here."

It looked like the argument was going to ramp up again, when Gwen stepped in. "Emma, why don't you come and stay with me? That will get you out of here for a bit."

Emma looked surprised at the offer. "It's Deborah, actually," she corrected. "And I like it here. I don't see why I have to leave, when I have friends here."

"Deborah's not going anywhere," Jack said. "Besides Gwen…how would you explain your houseguest to Rhys?"

Gwen looked surprised that he was even asking that question. "I…can tell him she's a cousin or something."

"And Rhys hasn't met all your family by now?" Jack asked. "No, that's not the answer."

"I have a safe house set up," Ianto added. "Either one of you can take it." He'd meant for that to be for John, but he doubted that the man would voluntarily leave the hostel – and Emma, not if he still had the need to parent her.

"I don't think these girls should be unchaperoned," John said. "I never had this sort of trouble with my son."

"Well, I'm not your son," Emma snapped. "You're not my dad, because I'm never going to see him again!" She took a hitching breath. "I'm doing the best I can, and you're not helping!"

Ianto knew that Jade and Alesha couldn't know what was going on, and yet they both went to comfort Emma. It was the difference between Emma and John; Emma had almost completely assimilated into the current time; while John was stuck in the past.

He despaired that this would end well.


	55. Gypsies of the Rift Chapter Seven

Gypsies of the Rift - Chapter Seven

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Don't own it, never will.

Author's note: Welcome back! Next chapter is up. I know I thank you all every time, but it's true: everyone reading and commenting and such makes me fee fantastic. Thanks again!

* * *

><p><em><strong>22 December 2007<strong>_

Jack looked down from the gantry, as his team worked more with the new arrivals from the Rift.

Toshiko was helping Emma – or Deborah – with a mobile, showing her how to use some of the more advanced functions. Diane stood and watched, while Owen practically hovered around her. Ianto had told him about his confronting their medic over the pilot, and while Jack couldn't blame the dragon for being protective, he hadn't really seen the point. All it had done was confirm something that Jack had already suspected: that Owen had fallen, and fallen hard. It seemed a bit out of character for the acerbic Owen Harper, but then Jack himself had fallen in love with a two millennia-old dragon. Who was he to point fingers?

Ianto was up in the Tourist Office; there'd been a few complaints about it hardly ever being open, and a call from the Welsh Tourism Board – some lovely sounding lady named Celia Allen – had called to question Ianto about it. The dragon had managed to convince her that there had been a major plumbing leak in the office, and it had been better to close it than to have the tourists have to deal with rampant mold. But, it had meant that, either Ianto would need to spend a bit more time up there, or that Jack would have to hire someone to take over their cover full-time. Or giving it up entirely, and Jack didn't want to do that. He'd have to discuss it with Ianto, and see what the dragon thought since it was his bailiwick.

Gwen was with John. She'd been bothered by his attitude toward Emma last night, and was determined to give him a crash course in Womens' Liberation. Jack really didn't think it would help, but he let her try. Having lived through the 1950's the immortal knew just how hidebound that particular mindset could be.

They'd left an uneasy truce in the hostel the night before. Emma hadn't wanted to leave her friends, and John had been reluctant to let the three young ladies go unchaperoned. Finally Jack had had to practically section them each to one part of the hostel, since neither one was willing to leave. Gwen had volunteered to stay, in order to keep the peace, but Jack had finally ordered her to leave, to go home to her boyfriend and leave things alone. She'd done so, but had practically demanded that Emma call her if anything happened. Ianto had rolled her eyes, and once the woman was gone had simply reassured the young woman that it was perfectly fine that she call him. Emma had been happy with that; Jack couldn't help but notice that Emma and Ianto seemed to be getting along very well, as she was with Toshiko.

He thought that might have been the difference between Ianto and Gwen: Ianto, while perhaps overly protective, was more of a big brother to the displaced woman; while Gwen seemed to want to mother her. That was Gwen's way, and it had been one of the reasons he'd hired her at the time; he'd seen at her caring nature, and it had seemed very human to him. Now, however, he was seeing it differently, in that Gwen chose to 'mother' even when it wasn't necessary. There was no differentiation in her as to when she should be overly caring, and when she should back off. It was something that could possibly alienate – no pun intended – a person who needed the latter and not the former. Jack wondered if it would do any good to talk to her about it, and realized no, it wouldn't. She'd most likely see it as him not remembering how to be human anymore.

Jack sighed. Gwen could be such a fantastic member of the team, and yet chose to follow her own way. He only hoped that didn't get her killed.

A sudden giggling caught his attention, and Jack realized that it had actually Toshiko who'd produced that sound. Diane laughed outright, and Owen rolled his eyes and headed back into the autopsy bay. Emma patted Toshiko on the shoulder in what could have been construed as a patronizing manner, pocketing the mobile, and spinning on her heel to head over to what had become hers and Diane's workstation.

Toshiko smiled wryly, and turned back to her own terminals. Jack wondered what had gone on to warrant such a response, and figured he'd ask later. Shaking his head, he started down toward his office, where he figured Ianto had left him enough paperwork to last into next week.

He didn't make it that far before Toshiko was calling to him.

Jack strode over to her, resting a hand on her shoulder. "What is it?"

Toshiko looked up at him, sadness in her eyes. "I've finally found John's son."

* * *

><p>The nursing home was in a nice, quiet area, surrounded by trees and gardens. Jack drove them up a graveled driveway, toward the car park, where he found a place near the front entrance. Pulling Ianto's car into an available slot, he switched off the engine and glanced at his passenger.<p>

John looked ashen. The moment he'd heard that his only son's current place of residence was an assisted living facility, he'd gone far too quiet. Jack could understand; he'd lost a few friends and lovers to old age over the years, and it never got any easier. One day, he knew he'd lose Estelle, as well as others, and he wasn't looking forward to that at all. His consolation was that he had Ianto to help him deal with it, as he would the dragon himself when it was time.

John didn't have anyone that close to him.

They both got out of the car; Jack had thought that the dragon's vehicle was much less conspicuous than the SUV, and after a little wheedling he'd convinced Ianto to lend him the keys. His lover had extracted a promise that Jack obey the traffic laws, and Jack had done so…well, as much as he was able to. He'd at least stopped at all the lights; that should make Ianto happy.

John strode forward, as if his previous nerves had been conquered. Jack knew differently, but followed him inside, where they made their way to the nurses' station. He stood by as John asked for his son, claiming to be a nephew, and the nurse on duty had given them both a sympathetic look before leading them into the facility.

The recreation room was bright and airy, but Jack could tell John only had eyes for the elderly man sitting in a chair by a large potted plant. Jack could see the resemblance between father and son; it was the jaw, and it would have been the eyes if Alan's hadn't been so dull. Jack's heart ached as John was led forward, and the nurse introduced John to his only child.

Alan looked up. "Is Sally coming?" he asked, his voice trembling.

The nurse rested a hand on Alan's shoulder. "Sally was his wife. She passed away a while back. I'm sorry, but this isn't one of his better days."

John looked aghast. "What's wrong with him?" he gasped.

Jack knew; he'd seen it before, and realized that things weren't going to get any easier for John.

"Alzheimer's," the nurse said, her voice very sympathetic.

"What?" he asked, his voice lost.

"He's senile," the nurse answered. "He doesn't remember who he is most of the time anymore. He couldn't live on his own. He'd leave the hobbs on, forget to dress…you know. He never had any children, so there wasn't anyone to look after him."

John went to pieces.

He fell to his knees beside the chair, one hand reaching out to claim his son's. Alan didn't even seem to pay attention; instead, he stared off into space, muttering something about Sally and how she hadn't visited him in a while. Jack watched as John wrestled himself back under control, dashing the incriminating tears from his face. Jack knew that, to John, weeping would have been seen as a weakness; that was one of the major issues Jack had with that time, that men had been taught to keep their emotions tightly reined in. It was unhealthy, and there really wasn't anything he could do to convince John that it was all right to mourn.

As he watched, John removed his wallet from his back pocket, taking several pictures from it. With shaking hands, he began showing them to an unresponsive Alan, explaining what they were. His son didn't do anything but stare out in front of him.

They were like that for several minutes. Jack suddenly wished that he'd brought Ianto with him; he might not have gotten along with John Ellis all that well, but his heart was hurting for him. This was the worst possible thing to have happened; if Alan had been dead, Jack thought that John would have handled that better than this: his son, still alive, and yet lost to him forever. To have to see him like this…it was hell. Sheer hell.

Jack really wanted Ianto to be there.

Finally, Alan started, then looked straight at the nurse. "When can I go home?" he asked petulantly.

"I'm sorry love," the nurse said patiently. "You're not well enough yet."

"I don't like this," the ill man moaned. "They took my clothes."

"I'm sure they're just in the laundry," the nurse answered. "I'll check on them for you." She smiled at John, and then Jack. "Keeps me on my toes, this one does."

She turned to leave, but John stopped her. "What did he do for a living?" he asked, almost timidly. "Was he in retail?"

The nurse shook her head. "I think he was a fireman." Smiling at them once more, she left them alone.

The look of devastation in John's eyes wrenched Jack's heart once more. "That's what I did…in the war…"

Jack didn't say anything. He didn't know what would possibly make this any better.

John turned back to Alan. He began to talk; little things, that had obviously had been between father and son. School, home, sports…anything and everything came spilling out of John as he tried so very hard to jog some sort of memory, something that would tell him that his only child was still inside the shell of the man sitting beside him. Jack watched, not wanting to break the spell, but knowing that nothing would bring Alan Ellis back to them.

Several times Alan seemed to recognize things, but the nurse explained that he would often recall bits and pieces of the past. John was undeterred; he kept talking until his voice was hoarse, and the flow of words began to splutter to a halt.

And then Alan looked at him, for perhaps the first time.

"Who are you?" he asked innocently.

Jack had to practically carry John away.

* * *

><p>"It was horrible."<p>

Jack sat on the sofa, his head in his hands. He'd managed to get John back to the hostel, where the man had practically ordered him out. Jack had acceded, knowing he would need time alone, and had driven to Ianto's, needing his own time to deal with what had happened.

"He was witnessing the end of his world," he went on, leaning into the calming touch on his shoulder. "It's the end of his line. And we can't help. There's no puzzle to solve; no enemy to fight…there's nothing we can do."

"We can't help Alan," Ianto said softly, "but we can try our best to help John."

"I don't know how." Jack leaned back, looking at his lover. Ianto was seated next to him, dressed down for the evening in jeans and a pullover. "I mean, you and I have both had to go through this sort of thing, but at this point I'm not certain he's willing to accept that we can help him."

"I hate to think you're right…but everything we've seen so far has led to that conclusion. He's just not able to adapt as well as Diane and Emma." Ianto slid a little closer, looping his arm around Jack's shoulders. "He's lost everything."

"Which means he has nothing left to lose," Jack added, leaning against Ianto, taking the comfort that the dragon was offering. "We'll need to watch him. When a man has nothing left to lose…"

"There's no telling what he'd be capable of doing," Ianto finished. "We'll watch out for him. I'd hate to have to send him to Flat Holm."

"So would I, especially when, chances are, he'd never leave again. No, that isn't the answer. We need to give him a purpose. Anything to keep him in the here and now."

Jack knew this was the answer. But it was actually accomplishing it that would be difficult.

He only hoped they could do something…before John did something he – and everyone else – would regret.


	56. Gypsies of he Rift Chapter Eight

Gypsies of the Rift - Chapter Eight

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine, and never will be.

Author's note: Welcome to the next chapter! Hope you enjoy.

* * *

><p><em><strong>23 December 2007<strong>_

The dragon woke up alone the next morning.

It was an unusual occurrence anymore; even though Jack never slept the night through, he was usually still in the house even if he was awake, puttering around the kitchen or poking his noise into the small hoard he kept in the cellar.

But he could tell immediately that his lover was gone, with that innate sense he had of Jack's personal energy. Changing back to human form, Ianto headed downstairs to see if Jack had left any sort of word as to where he'd gone.

Sure enough, there was a note stuck under the coffee machine, right where Ianto was most likely to find it. He read _'Weevil, Jx' _and rolled his eyes. Setting the coffee on, Ianto headed back up to shower and get ready for the day.

After breakfast – for once, Jack wasn't around to tease Ianto about the sheer amount of food he ate; after all, it took a lot to keep a dragon's metabolism going – Ianto went to find his keys…which were gone. Typical; he should have expected that Jack had taken his car, since they'd ridden home together the night before and he'd want to get to the Weevil sighting as soon as he could. Sighing, Ianto headed out the back door and quickly transformed, taking to the air and heading toward the Hub.

It gave him a little time to think about an idea that had come to him while he'd been in the shower. He'd been wondering just what they could do to help John; when his notion hit, he couldn't believe he hadn't thought of this possible solution before. He wanted to discuss it with Jack, to see what he thought about it.

The dragon landed on the roof of the Millennium Center, changed form and then headed down the fire stairs. He and Jack had keys to access the stairs; they'd gotten them using their Torchwood clearance, since they both used the roof for their personal perches and wanted to make it easier to use.

In minutes he was in the Hub. Ianto saw Jack in his office, and he headed there, sticking his head around the open door. "Coffee?" he inquired.

Jack looked up from his paperwork, grinning widely. "You read my mind, gorgeous."

Ianto blushed, he couldn't help it. What made the endearment special was that Jack meant it for both his human and his dragon form.

"Coming right up," he turned, then said over his shoulder, ""then I want to talk to you about something."

"That sounds ominous." Jack said, jokingly.

"Nope," Ianto answered, popping the 'p'. "Just a sec and I'll explain."

The coffee took more than a second, but it was less than five minutes later that he was seated in the visitor's chair in Jack's office, both of them with a steaming cup in their hands.

"So," Jack prompted, leaning back in his own chair and taking a sip, the accompanying salacious moan something that Ianto was used to. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I think I might have come up with a way to help John," Ianto answered, taking his own sip. Yes…perfect. "I think we need to give him the opportunity to be able to take care of his son, in an environment that wouldn't cause too much stress on either of them."

Jack looked very interested. "And just where do you think that would be? Not Flat Holm…"

"No," the dragon said. "Neither of them would really fit in there. But no, I was thinking of sending them both up to Ddraig Llyn. It's a quiet place, there isn't a lot to show that the place is actually part and parcel of the twenty-first century, and they'll be surrounded by others who would only be glad to help out. I think it's really the best alternative."

Jack was nodding. "You're right, it is. I think that's an excellent suggestion. Can you arrange it?"

"Shouldn't be a problem. I can ask Rhiannon to put them up at the inn; I'm sure she'd love to have guests. I'll call her and see if we can arrange to get both John and Alan up there."

"I don't think we'll have any problem convincing John," Jack said. "After all, all he's wanted to do was find Alan, and while I know it's not the best result we could have hoped for, I'm sure he'll want to spend what time Alan has left with him."

Ianto agreed. Everything that had motivated John Ellis so far had been the hunt for his family. Surely he'd want to be with his son, and live somewhere that would be peaceful for them both. "It's a bit early to call Rhiannon," he said, glancing at his watch. It read 6:39am. "I'll try about lunch time. I'm sure she'll agree."

"Great." Jack smiled. "That makes me feel a lot better about what happened yesterday."

Ianto stood, and made his way around the desk. He rested his arse against the corner, staring down at Jack with a smirk on his face. "How was the Weevil?"

Jack looked up at him, his eyes sparkling. "Not as much fun as spending the morning with you."

"I should hope not." Ianto leaned down and kissed his lover.

Jack reciprocated enthusiastically.

* * *

><p>The morning went by quietly. Ianto spent a bit of it with Emma – or Deborah, he'd have to get used to calling her that – exploring various universities online. The young woman had decided she wanted to continue her education, and Ianto had offered to help her find out just what she'd need to do to be accepted. Of course they couldn't rely on her original school records, being over 50 years out of date, but Ianto was hoping that between himself and Toshiko they'd be able to cobble together what would equal Emma's current school experience.<p>

Owen had taken Diane out to the airport; the pilot had wanted to check on her plane, and to perhaps take a quick flight. Her new license would cover any issues that might come up; Ianto could understand the need to fly, being a winged creature, and so could sympathize with her need for freedom. Jack's friend had been impressed with her, and his lover had said it took a lot to impress his buddy. Ianto thought it would be a perfect job for her to be flying again in some capacity, and he thought the time in the UNIT simulator would do her good.

John had shown up at the Hub after Deborah, not staying very long. He'd gotten a bus schedule that showed the route out to the nursing home where Alan was, and had left immediately afterward. Ianto couldn't help but notice how pale and drawn he'd looked, and realized just how hard it must be for him. Deborah and Diane – Sally Anne, even though Ianto had offered to redo the identifications under a new name – didn't have anyone left to prematurely mourn over. It made Ianto consider his idea to send them both to Ddraig Llyn, and he was more convinced than ever that this was the right thing to do.

After lunch, He headed up to the Tourist Office in order to have a bit of privacy to call Rhiannon Davies. His inn manager was delighted to hear from him; Rhiannon's family, the Joneses, had always been dragon-friends, and they could trace their lineage back to the first druids in the valley. It had been the Joneses who had taken him in after his family had been killed, and it had seemed only right that he leave the inn under Rhiannon's competent control.

Once he'd explained the situation, Rhiannon had been more than willing to help, even volunteering Johnny to come down in one of the larger village vehicles in order to bring all of Alan's things in one trip. Ianto was grateful that she'd accepted things so easily; but then, when a person was familiar with an over two thousand-year-old dragon, strangeness really didn't have much control over them anymore.

Ianto went over the details of John and Alan's stay in Ddraig Llyn, and when he hung up he felt much better about the situation. He was worried about John, after the shock from yesterday; Jack had been upset about it, and he wasn't related to Alan. He could understand that John would have been devastated. He hoped this would make things a bit easier for the man, knowing that he had a place to go, to spend what time his son had left in an environment of little stress and surrounded by people who would be willing to help.

He'd only been off the phone for a few minutes when John came in. The man looked haggard, but that was to be expected if he'd just come from visiting his son. Ianto nodded in welcome. "Jack and I wanted to talk to you about something," he said, as he pushed the button to open the secret doorway. "We think – "

The dragon didn't get a chance to finish; the front door slammed open, and Owen stormed in. Ianto barely had time to react before the medic was practically flying down the corridor toward the lift, and it took Ianto a second to shake off the shock before heading down after him. "Can you stay up here for a bit?" he asked as he followed Owen. "I'll be back shortly."

Owen had taken the stairs, and Ianto tried to catch up, worried about the murderous look on the man's face. Foreboding scratched at his nerves, and while Ianto didn't know what had happened, it couldn't have been good.

He didn't even wait for the cog door to open all the way, squeezing through the gap. Ianto had to wait a few moments longer, and cleared the door just as Owen entered Jack's office in full steam. He passed a shocked Toshiko, Deborah, and Gwen, ignoring them as he went in the medic's wake.

Ianto entered the office just in time to witness him grab Jack by the throat and pull him out of his chair to slam him into the wall. "You fucking bastard," Owen yelled. "You couldn't let me be happy for once, could you?"

Ianto ran forward, wrestling Owen away from Jack. His lover whooped in a deep breath, rubbing his throat. Owen may have been smaller, but he was putting up one hell of a fight, and it was all the dragon could do to hold him back. "What's wrong with you?" he demanded, managing to toss him into the visitor's chair, putting both hands on Owen's shoulders in order to hold him down.

Owen tried to get up, but Ianto pressed him downward, using his greater bulk to keep him in the chair. He glared up at Ianto, and if looks could kill the dragon would have been dead on the spot. "Let go of me," he snarled, struggling.

"Not until you answer the damned question!" Ianto snapped.

The dragon was aware that they had an audience; there'd been no way of hiding Owen's rampage. Jack looked toward the door, and from Ianto's position he couldn't tell who was standing there. "Everyone out," Jack ordered. "And close the door behind you."

The sound of the office door clicking shut was like a signal. Owen stopped struggling, apparently realizing that Ianto wasn't about to let him up. Jack came to stand in front of them, his arms crossed over his chest, looming over the pinned medic ominously. "Now," he growled, "are you going to tell me what I supposedly did that warranted you trying to strangle me?"

And suddenly, Owen relaxed under Ianto's hands, as if he'd been some sort of puppet and his strings had been cut. "She's gone," he answered sullenly. "She left."

Jack frowned. "I take it you mean Diane."

Ianto was startled. He hadn't expected the pilot to just up and leave, and knew there had to have been a good a reason for it.

"No shit," Owen muttered. "You can let me up, Dragon Boy. I won't try to kill the boss again."

"Sorry, but I don't trust you when you're in this sort of mood," Ianto answered. "Are you going to explain why you think Jack had anything to do with Diane leaving?"

"That man Harkness introduced her to, who owns the flight school," Owen began. "He told her about some sort of job in Alaska that she'd be good at. When we got out to the airfield, she told me she was going to go and find her own way." His voice broke. "Just last night, she told me she loved me…and then she left to go to fucking Alaska! Said she couldn't be tied down, that she had to be free. Then…she just took off. Left me standing like an idiot on the tarmac, and fucking left…" Owen stared up at Jack. "If you hadn't introduced her to that guy, then she'd still be here! She wouldn't have gotten the idea in the first place! She would've stayed…with me…" With that, Owen broke down, sobbing.

Ianto let him go in shock. He recalled their conversation, about how Owen felt about Diane. Yes, he'd accepted that Owen loved her, but this reaction…it was almost over the top. He'd only known her for a few days, and yet he was mourning her like she'd died, instead of leaving for another country.

"I'm sorry," Jack said, "but we couldn't keep her here against her will. Owen, she was a free spirit, and you knew that. She needed to fly, or else she would have withered away. This was her decision to leave."

"She wouldn't have thought about it, if the idea hadn't been put in her head," Owen retorted, wiping his nose on the sleeve of his coat. "She would've stayed, I know it!"

"You can't know that," Ianto put in. "Yes, she may have stayed…but she also might have left anyway. It wasn't our right to take away her freedom."

"Damn you both," Owen said weakly. "And damn me, too. She wouldn't even accept that I might want to go with her…she just left me."

"You have to let her go," Jack said sympathetically. "It's her decision, Owen. She wanted to start her life over, and she chose this."

Owen didn't answer. He just sat there, curled up in misery. Ianto glanced at Jack, and he could see his lover was just as surprised by this turn of events as the dragon was. It was like Katie all over again, and Ianto remembered how bad that was.

But, niggling at the back of his mind, was a little voice saying that this was out of character, and that he should keep a close watch on Owen.

After the upheaval, Ianto headed back up to the Tourist Office, in order to relieve John. He was surprised to see the man gone, and the 'closed' sign up in the door. Puzzled, Ianto moved to lock the door, wondering why John would have left without saying anything, especially after he'd told him that they'd wanted to speak to him.

Frowning, Ianto began to gather up his things, not wanting to be away from the Hub for too long. Owen was still volatile, and while Jack couldn't die permanently the dragon didn't want to leave Owen in the way of temptation. Diane's leaving had been a surprise, and Owen was taking it far harder than Ianto thought he should. He didn't understand it, and it bothered him.

Absently, he reached into the drawer for his car keys…

They were gone.

Ianto checked the drawer thoroughly, and his keys weren't there. He knew Jack had returned them that morning, and Ianto had put them in the drawer after he'd come back in with the team's lunch orders.

No, they were definitely gone.

And there was only one person who could have taken them.

Ianto activated his comm. "Jack, John's taken my car keys."


	57. Gypsies of the Rift Chapter Nine

Gypsies of the Rift - Chapter Nine

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be mine.

Author's note: One more chapter of this particular story to go. Thanks you all for reading!

* * *

><p><em><strong>23 December 2007<strong>_

Jack sighed, closing the office door behind him, leaving a grieving Owen inside.

He was met by three pair of very curious eyes. The three women were standing around Toshiko's workstation, grouped together in a formation that Jack often thought of as a 'gossip huddle'. He shook his head, indicating that it was none of their business. If Owen wanted them to know, then it would be up to him to say anything.

Where this depth of emotion had come from, Jack had no idea. He'd known Owen Harper for three years, and in all that time he'd only ever seen Owen that upset once: when Katie had died. It didn't make sense; Diane wasn't dead, she'd just left to go to another country. There were ways to keep in touch over those distances, and who knew what would happen in the future? There was no real reason for him to be acting this way.

Jack flatly refused to feel any sort of guilt for introducing Diane to his friend. He hadn't about to curtail her freedom; the captain knew how that felt, to have one's freedom taken away from them. It had happened, back when he'd first run into Torchwood; there was no way he was about to make anyone stay when they obviously didn't want to. In fact, a part of him had always imagined Diane leaving for some adventure. This…infatuation Owen had with her, Jack hadn't taken all that seriously.

Ianto had been right to worry. Only they'd both worried about the wrong person in that particular relationship.

"_Jack,"_ the dragon's voice came over his comm., _"John's taken my car keys."_

Jack cursed. Now what?

He headed over to the closest workstation not surrounded by overly curious females, pulling up the GPS on Ianto's car. One glance told him everything he needed to know.

He keyed open his own comm. "He's heading home. Meet me on the Plass; I'll bring the SUV around."

Ianto acknowledged as Jack headed back into his office to grab his coat. Owen was still curled up in the chair, looking miserable, the glass of whiskey that Jack had poured for him clutched in both hands. The immortal touched his shoulder on the way out, making sure the door was shut once more. "No one bother him," he warned the trio. "I mean no one. This also means you, Gwen," he pointed his finger at her, and Gwen managed to look innocent. But Jack knew her, and knew that she'd be in that room the moment he was gone. "Toshiko, I'm counting on you to let Owen have his privacy for as long as he wants it."

The technician nodded even as Gwen looked put out. Owen didn't need her brand of solicitude right now, especially when this had to do with the woman who'd replaced her in Owen's bed. Jack wasn't sure if Gwen was even aware of the situation, and the last thing he needed in his Hub was a domestic like that. He honestly didn't think Owen could take the confrontation at this point.

Jack raced to the garage, backing the SUV out before he even had the door closed. He roared out of the underground car park, twisting the wheel and purposely driving the vehicle onto the Plass, where Ianto waited by the invisible lift. The dragon climbed into the passenger seat, doing up his seatbelt as Jack took them away from the bay and toward John's old home.

"I don't like this," he muttered. "Why would he take your car out there, when he has the bus route?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Ianto answered. "How did he even know I put the keys in that drawer in the first place?"

Jack didn't know the answer to that, or to anything else. John had been so distraught over his son, that anything was possible. Was he just going out there to say goodbye…or was it something more ominous?

He knew which way his thoughts were going.

In the silence that permeated the vehicle, he knew where Ianto's thoughts were, as well.

It seemed to take forever to get there, but with Jack breaking every traffic law possible it really wasn't all that long. The house looked well and truly abandoned, windows boarded up and weeds growing up in the yard.

There was no sign of Ianto's car.

Jack pulled up out front, and both got out. The neighborhood was quiet; only the sound of a barking dog from down the street gave the impression that people actually lived in the area. Jack turned in place, frowning. "All right…I give up. Where is he?"

Ianto was frowning. "Can you smell it?" He wrinkled his nose.

Jack inhaled deeply, trying to catch what the dragon had. His 51st century senses were a bit sharper, but Ianto's were even more so, and it took him a moment to realize what Ianto was on about.

Car exhaust.

Then his ears picked up the unmistakable sound of a car engine running. There was nothing on the street…

Jack knew almost in the exact second Ianto must have, because they both headed toward the house's closed garage.

"It's locked," Jack growled, trying to wrench the door up. His heart was racing; he was angry at himself. He should have known something like this might happen; and now they were trapped outside, with no way of saving the man inside.

"Let me."

Jack stepped back, as Ianto's body began to glow. In seconds, the dragon stood next to Jack, and he slammed a hands' set of claws into the garage door. The wood creaked alarmingly as the dragon flexed his fingers, and the razor-sharp claws tore into the barrier as if it was made of paper. He added his second set of front claws, making even more of a shredded mess, and settled himself back on his haunches to gain leverage.

The strong smell of exhaust billowed out of the destroyed door as the dragon yanked backward, tearing it from its frame. Jack coughed harshly, holding his sleeve over his nose and mouth as he darted into the haze-filled garage. Through the fumes he could see Ianto's car, the engine running. An indistinct form was in the front seat, and the immortal grabbed the door handle, hoping that John hadn't locked himself in.

He hadn't.

Jack pulled the door open. John's head was lolling, but he was still conscious, judging from his reaction to Jack's sudden appearance. Jack reached in for the man; John tried to fight, but the carbon monoxide had already begun to take effect, and the effort was far too weak to stop Jack from pulling him from the car.

He hauled the man out of the garage, practically throwing him onto the ground. Jack went back inside to shut off the car, and by the time he was back out Ianto had changed back into his human form, and was kneeling beside the hacking form of John Ellis, trying to help him clear his airway. "Let me go," the man was begging weakly, trying to bat Ianto's hands away.

"You can't just throw your life away," Jack said, kneeling on the other side of John.

"I'm not as strong as you are," he whimpered through the harsh coughing. "You don't understand."

Hadn't John heard anything that Jack had told him? "I do," he answered, unintentional anger coloring his words. "I'm from the future; trapped in the past! My time is gone, and yet it hasn't even arrived. I've lost everything that I knew, including my family. You're not alone in this! Why can't you understand that?"

John was shaking his head in denial, and Jack felt even more angry. "Both Ianto and I have lost our entire families. At least you still have your son!"

"My son? He's just a shell! There's nothing left of him!"

"But you'd still leave him, even though you spent so much effort in convincing us to find him?" Ianto's own voice was harsh, anger swimming in his eyes.

"He won't even know I was here!"

"You make such a big deal of family," the dragon growled, "and yet, when it gets bad, you're abandoning your only son, who needs you!" Jack wondered if Ianto was going to shake the man, but his lover refrained. "If I had any member of my family back, even if they didn't remember me, I'd be there for them!" Ianto let go of his grip on the man, and stood up. "You're a selfish bastard, John Ellis. Maybe you do deserve to die."

Jack's eyes widened at that. He wanted to say something, berate the dragon for his words…but couldn't. Ianto was right. John was being selfish, instead of taking a chance to be with his son for as long as he could be, for starting a new life and possibly finding happiness. But no one deserved death. "You're still young," he said. "You can find a place in the world, possibly start a new family. Have a life!"

"I did all that," John argued. "Years ago…when it was my time. Don't condemn me to live."

"Condemn you?" Ianto fairly shouted, rounding on him once more. "_Condemn you?_ Don't you know what a gift you have? Yes, the Rift took you away from all you knew, but at least you didn't lose your entire family – your entire race! You have something left! You have a son who needs you, even if he doesn't remember you. And you're just going to throw that all away, because you can't deal with it all?"

Jack was startled by the outburst. He hadn't seen this coming, not from his usually calm lover. "Ianto…"

"No, Jack, I've had enough," the dragon snapped. "We've put up with a lot from this man! We tried to help him as best we could, and he throws it back into our faces like the ungrateful bastard that he is. He thinks he's lost so much, but he hasn't. He has no idea what true loss is!"

With those words, Ianto's form began to glow once more. Jack heard John gasp in surprise, but kept his eyes firmly on his lover.

The glow faded, and in Ianto's place was the dragon. Those ancient blue eyes stared down at John Ellis, and Jack could feel the man cringing against him. "What the hell are you?" John gasped.

"I am the last of my kind," the dragon rumbled. "Every one of my people were murdered by humans, until only I was left. I have lost more than you can possibly imagine, John Ellis, and yet I do not whine about it, or attempt to take my own life. I will be alone…forever. I can never have the intimacy that a true dragon mating can bring. I can never have children, or have the company of dragon kind. I am alone in this world."

Jack felt his heart break. The pain in the dragon's voice was terrible to hear, and he longed to wrap his arms about that long neck and simply hold Ianto through it all.

"But," the dragon's voice went soft, "I didn't give up. I found my place in this world, defending the very people who hunted my kind to extinction. I found a new love – " his eyes met Jack's, and the emotion in them nearly choked him " – and I found a happiness I didn't know I ever would have again. I didn't give up, John Ellis. Even after everything I knew was gone…I didn't give up. I lived through the blood and the death and the nightmares and the loneliness."

"The difference being," Jack added, "is that you have other human beings around you, wanting to help you. You have a son who needs you. You can have a life that anyone would be proud of. But you can't give up."

John was struggling in Jack's grasp, and he let the time-displaced man go. John staggered to his feet, and slowly approached the dragon. He raised a hand, letting it rest on a scaly shoulder. The dragon simply watched him. "Do you now understand?" Ianto asked quietly. "Do you now know how much Jack and I can sympathize with your plight? We simply want to help you, and we think we know how. Will you let us try?"

John shook his head. "I don't know if I can…"

Jack joined them, putting his own hand on John's shoulder. "Let us try."

He looked between immortal and dragon, a war of emotions going on in his tired eyes.

Finally, he nodded.

And Jack hugged him, even though his clothes smelled of exhaust and death.


	58. Gypsies of the Rift Chapter Ten

Gypsies of the Rift - Chapter Ten 

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine, and never will be

Author's Note: Here it is, the past chapter of Gypsies of the Rift, the Dragon-Verse version of "Out of Time". Thanks to everyone who have commented and alerted and such, you all make my day.

Next up is an interlude, called Senators and Gladiators, which is basically an excuse for Ianto and Jack to do a bit of role-play. Besides, it give the boys a chance at some fun...before all hell breaks loose.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p><em><strong>24 December 2007<strong>_

"Thank you for coming on such short notice," Ianto said, greeting Johnny and Rhiannon Davies as they got out of the large panel van with the inn's name on it.

It had been a rough night for himself and Jack. They'd taken John Ellis back to the dragon's home, where they'd gotten him cleaned up and tucked into bed. The man had been in shock, and had been pliable in their capable hands, but that hadn't stopped the nightmares that had come in the dead of night. Ianto's mother would have said that death was fighting for John's soul; that one who had been so close to death would not be able to escape so easily, especially when it was a fate that he had chosen for himself. Ianto didn't know if that was true, but John's calls had been for his lost family, and the dragon could sympathize with him.

Only Jack being there had keep Ianto's own nightmares at bay.

He'd called Rhiannon after getting John settled, and she's agreed that she and Johnny would be there in the morning. Ianto thought the sooner John and Alan were taken care of, the easier they'd have in coping with the move. The dragon had gotten up very early that morning to arrange all the paperwork for Alan's transfer from the nursing home, and had arranged to meet the Davies' there.

John stood behind Alan's wheelchair, his few belongings already packed. The look on John's face was almost eager, and Ianto hoped this would be a turnaround for him, and for his son.

"No problem, mate," Johnny answered, taking Ianto's offered hand. "Glad we can help."

Johnny was a large, bluff man who might not have been the most intelligent person ever born, but he had a good heart. When Ianto had left the Green Dragon in Rhiannon's capable hands, he'd known that Johnny would help her run it, as well as aid in the upkeep of the place. Their family had been a perfect fit, and Ianto didn't have any regrets at leaving them in charge of what had been his home for centuries.

"The kids loved the Solstice gifts you sent," Rhiannon said, joining her husband. "But you didn't have to send Johnny and me anything." She and her family didn't celebrate Christmas, and while Ianto had started half-heartedly since joining Torchwood – mainly because everyone else around him did – he personally felt that worshipping a holiday that belonged to the religion that was responsible for so many dragon deaths was something he really didn't want to do. He would give gifts, which he enjoyed doing, and that was it. It was easier than explaining why he had certain issues with Christianity.

Ianto waved it off. "You're taking care of something special to me. I wanted to thank you." He honestly didn't think he'd done enough.

"Them's the ones, then?" Johnny motioned toward John and Alan.

The dragon nodded. He'd explained everything to Rhiannon, and so they knew the entire story. He was grateful that they'd so easily accepted the story of a Rift in time and space, or else it would have been…interesting, to say the least. But then, they knew he was a dragon. It was simpler to believe in certain things once a person knew the truth of Ianto Jones.

"Let's get 'em loaded up, then," Johnny said. He went around to the side door, pulling it open to reveal a bench seat just behind the driver's cab. "Hope they're ready to learn Welsh…"

Ianto chuckled. Nearly 90% of the residents of Ddraig Llyn spoke Welsh, and he hoped it would give John something else to concentrate on while figuring out his place in the village.

"I'll help," Jack said, coming out of the home's main entrance.

Rhiannon's eyes widened, then narrowed, as her husband and Jack began to help John get his son into the back of the van. She snagged Ianto's arm, leading him away from the proceedings. Ianto went with her, a little surprised by her actions. "That's him, then?" she asked, as they moved out of earshot.

Ianto was confused. "What do you mean?"

Rhiannon rolled her eyes. "The flowers? I haven't forgotten them, you know."

_The flowers_. Ianto recalled then, the flowers that Jack had sent him back after Lisa, when the dragon had gone home to get some perspective on just what he was doing with his life. "Oh, yes.," he answered. "Yes, he is."

Rhiannon nodded, but there was an absent look in her eyes, and she chewed her lip thoughtfully. She kept glancing at Jack; the immortal was talking with John, who was looking a bit more excited about the whole thing.

Then she suddenly snapped back to him. "You should know, there've been signs."

Ianto was confused once more. "What do you mean?" He felt like a broken record, repeating himself.

"Up on Pedair Dreigiau," she answered. "The last several days, there's been a heavy mist around the mountaintop, and last night there was a rumble like a landslide, and fire was seen through the thick clouds." Rhiannon looked him straight in the eye. "You know what that means." It wasn't a question.

Ianto did know. Pedair Dreigiau was the tallest mountain of the range surrounding Ddraig Llyn, and had always been sacred to the people living there. His father had once told him that the mountain was one of great and ancient power, and that the Great Dragons would sometimes manifest themselves there. It was those stories that had inadvertently led to Ianto being worshipped for a time; even though he'd denied being one of the Great Dragons, it hadn't mattered.

If there were signs on the mountain…

"The Earth Dragon has been seen here, in Cardiff," he added.

Rhiannon's eyes flew open. She listened as Ianto told her about Jack's dream, and the reaction from the mating posts. He explained about Toshiko's vision, and how the Earth Dragon had marked her, naming her Dragon-Friend.

When he was done, she looked stunned. "I want to meet this Toshiko. Can you arrange it?"

"Sometime after the New Year?" he asked.

"That'll be fine. This mark…you're sure it's from the Earth Dragon?"

Ianto nodded. It occurred to him that he should have sought her advice long before this; Rhiannon was the last of a long line of Druids, and her several times great-grandmother had even apprenticed under the ancient priest who'd officiated at his sister's mating ceremony. Rhiannon Jones-Davies knew more about ritual than he did, and she might have been able to answer some of his questions.

Johnny called for her, and she waved absently in his direction. "I'll be calling to arrange a trip down. If the Earth Dragon is appearing using your Rift, then something is going to happen…and, I think, happen soon. Keep an eye out, okay? You need me for anything, don't hesitate to call. Oh, and give your Toshiko my number, too. If she was Marked and Named, then she might want to understand exactly what that means."

"I should have contacted you about this immediately – "

"No reason you should've thought of it, really. I know you explained to her what you know; but maybe she'd like to hear from someone who actually carries a dragon Mark to get the full picture."

It was Ianto's turn to be stunned. "You have a Mark?"

She nodded. "Only mine's the Water Dragon's mark. Have her phone me, yeah?"

"I will."

"Good. And when we get your people settled, I'll call you as well. I'm sure there's some things I know that you don't."

Ianto snorted. "That wouldn't surprise me. I was…never into studying the ways of power." His father had taught him much, but he hadn't been a priest, and Ianto was certain there were mysteries that the elder dragon hadn't been privy to.

Rhiannon rolled her eyes. "Bloody obvious that…or else you'd have noticed the aura around your man, there." She winked then, and walked back toward the van.

Leaving an extremely confused dragon behind.

* * *

><p>"You're awfully quiet."<p>

Jack's voice broke Ianto out of his reverie. He'd been thinking about what Rhiannon had said, and what it might portend. So much was happening…and Ianto didn't understand it. Things felt as if they were suddenly spinning out of control, and he didn't know what to do to fix it.

"Sorry," he said, glancing over at his lover in the drivers' seat. One of Jack's hands was resting lightly on the wheel, and while he wasn't looking at Ianto directly the dragon could tell that Jack's attention was mostly on him, and not the road. "Keep your mind on driving," he ordered playfully.

Jack snorted. "Please. Driving is simple compared to flying a Chula warship."

"Yes, but there's less likelihood of hitting another vehicle in the depths of space."

"I dunno, the hyperspace lanes can be pretty congested in some places. I remember trying to merge onto the roundabout over Petraxus Major – "

"Jack," the dragon growled, "pay attention to the road. I'm tired of asking Detective Swanson to 'fix' your tickets for you. There's only so many dinners she'll accept as bribes."

"One of these days I'm going to follow you two to one of these dinners. I need to know if I should be jealous."

"Idiot," Ianto insulted him affectionately. "About as much as I need to be jealous when you go Weevil hunting with Gwen."

"Which is none."

"Exactly."

"Kathy Swanson is kinda hot, though…"

"Jack!"

"What?"

"Shut up and drive."

Jack gave him a pout that would have done a four-year-old proud.

But he did shut up and drive.

* * *

><p>Toshiko and Deborah were the only ones in the Hub when they arrived.<p>

"Did you get John and Alan off, then?" she asked, not looking up from her terminals.

"I think that's a pretty personal question, Toshiko," Jack laughed.

Ianto didn't need to see her eyes to know that she'd just rolled them. "How do you put up with him, Ianto?"

"Gods and Goddesses only know, Tosh," the dragon answered, smirking.

"Wait," Deborah said, looking between the two of them. "You mean you – " She waggled her fingers back and forth, managing to convey what she meant in just that gesture.

Ianto stifled his sigh. Well, they'd expected it, but since Diane had accepted so readily…"Is that a problem?"

Deborah giggled. "No, but it's always the good-looking guys, isn't it?"

"Say it, sister," Toshiko mumbled just loud enough for them to all hear it.

The young woman looked confused. "I thought I just did."

Jack laughed. "It's an expression, Emma…sorry, Deborah," he backpedaled at her look. "It means Toshiko agrees with you."

"Oh, okay. I have to say, some of the slang in this time is really strange."

Ianto smiled at her. "You'll get used to it."

"I'm sure I will. Ianto…can you help me with my Uni forms today? I'm hoping to be able to start taking a couple of classes after the holidays, if that's possible."

"Of course." The dragon was glad to do so. They'd managed to get her accepted at Cardiff University – Toshiko using some of her computer magic – and Ianto knew she was excited to start. "I've also arranged for you to stay at the safe house for as long as you want. I know the girls at the hostel won't be there much longer…"

Deborah nodded. 'But they gave me their mobile numbers, and I figured out how to add them to my contacts. I'm going to love this time, I just know it."

"I don't have any doubt that this time will love you, as well," Ianto answered. He ushered her over to his desk, as Jack asked where Owen and Gwen were.

"I haven't heard from Owen," Toshiko answered. "I tried to reach him but his mobile goes to voice mail. I tracked the signal to his flat, though, so I do know where he is." She sounded worried, and Ianto couldn't blame her. "Gwen called, and said she'd be in about half an hour late. Something about Rhys and an early Christmas gift. I wasn't about to ask for details."

Ianto pulled up the files he'd need to help Deborah with, in order to sort out classes for her. He wondered vaguely if Gwen had tried to see Owen last night, and what had happened. Knowing the mood Owen had been in, she'd have been lucky if she'd only had the door slammed in her face.

Even as he helped Deborah, his thoughts turned to what Rhiannon had said. In all his time at Ddraig Llyn, he'd only seen any sort of sign on Pedair Dreigiau once, and he'd been a very young dragon indeed. He still had no notion of what had caused it that time.

"Ianto?" Deborah asked. "You okay?"

He turned to smile at her. "I'm fine. Let's get these done, and then we can get you set up in your new place."

Suddenly he found himself being hugged. Ianto huffed a laugh in surprise, returning the young woman's embrace. "What's this for?" he asked.

"For doing all this for me," she answered, hugging him tighter. "I don't think I would've been able to deal with this as well without you and Toshiko."

"I'm very glad to help," he said sincerely.

"Oi!" Jack's voice echoed throughout the Hub. "Hands off the boyfriend, missy!" He was trying to sound stern, but was failing miserably.

Deborah laughed, letting Ianto go. Her eyes were shiny with tears, but she called back to Jack teasingly, "I can't help it," she teased. "He's just too cute not to hug!"

"I am not cute!" Ianto exclaimed.

"Yes, you are," Toshiko called back. "And you have the nicest arse in the Hub!"

Jack's laughter melded with Deborah's. Ianto shook his head, knowing he wasn't going to win against the three of them. "Insane, the lot of you," he accused, chuckling

He turned back to his work, fingers tapping against the keys as he filled in the forms Deborah would need. Ianto would get her set up, and Deborah Morrison would be able to begin her new life. He'd arrange to keep his eye on her for a while, but he doubted she'd need his help. She'd be just fine.

Ianto thoughts went to Diane, gone to live her own life in another country, leaving behind a brokenhearted Owen. Then to John and his son, being supported by the descendents of the people who'd once supported him.

Things might not have come out as perfectly as they could have. And there were things that still needed to be dealt with.

But Ianto had faith that they'd work things out as best as could be.

After all, that was what Torchwood did.


	59. Senators and Gladiators

Senators and Gladiators

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own this, bummer.

Author's note: Okay, I do hope you're all to a little smut...cause it's coming. I originally wrote this for Cliche Bingo on Long Live Ianto on Live Journal, and the prompt was Role Play...so that gives you a bit of an idea about this section. It's rated M, so if you don't want to read it, you don't have to.

* * *

><p><em><strong>26 December 2007<strong>_

Jack let himself into Ianto's home with the key the dragon had given him, shrugging off his coat and hanging it up on the hall tree by the front door. "Ianto!" he called out, removing his boots and setting them on the mat next to the dragon's own footwear.

There was no answer, and Jack headed into the lounge. Ianto had told him that he'd been heading home about an hour ago, leaving Jack to liaise with UNIT over the recent appearance of the Doctor in London, and the temporary draining of the Thames due to an alien incursion under an old Torchwood London facility. Jack had been bothered that he'd missed the Time Lord once more, but there'd been no guarantee that he'd have made it in time if he'd left, and his team had needed him. He might have once thought about leaving when he could, but that had changed as soon as he'd acknowledged his feelings for a certain dragon.

Jack glanced around, looking for some sign of his dragon lover. Ianto wasn't around, but there was a box on the coffee table, and he made his way over to see what it was.

A note with his name on it was on top of the box, and Jack picked it up. He unfolded the piece of paper, and read:

_Put the contents of this box on, then come upstairs. Ix_

Intrigued, Jack set the note down then lifted the lid of the box. Carefully pulling aside several sheets of tissue paper, Jack felt a smirk grow as he made out just what was inside.

Moving quickly, he stripped his clothes off, then removed what Ianto had left for him. It was a simple leather loincloth, and a Roman _gladius_ in a sheath attached to a battered looking belt.

Jack slipped the loincloth on, excitement building. It fit perfectly, cupping his cock and balls comfortably, and he knew he had Ianto to thank for that; he had an eye for measurements, something he usually blamed on his father. The sword belt buckled on easily, the sheath against his left thigh. It felt a bit odd, but if Ianto wanted him to wear it…well, Jack wasn't going to argue.

He had a feeling he was in for a really good time.

Taking the steps two at a time, Jack practically bounded up the stairs, wondering just what Ianto had in mind. He entered the loft, taking a look around in order to get some sort of clue as to what scenario his lover had set up.

Their usual bed – the pile of pillows and blankets that the dragon favored, and that Jack had grown to enjoy as well – had been cleared up and stacked carefully in the corner, to make room for a low couch, almost like a chaise only with no back. A small table was next to the couch held a tray with fruit, and a tall pitcher with two goblets sat beside it.

But his eyes found his lover, and Jack's mouth went dry at the sight.

Ianto was wearing a toga.

It was white, with a purple stripe along one edge. It completely obscured his body, and yet at the same time it was quite possibly one of the most erotic things he'd ever seen his lover wear. His legs were bare, and he wore sandals with leather ties that looped around his ankles and partly up his calves. Under the toga Jack could see a simple white tunic covering anything that the long cloth did not.

Ianto was looking at Jack with a haughty expression. "So," he drawled, moving forward, his eyes raking up and down Jack's body, "you are the newest gladiator. I understand you're quite…accomplished, in the arena."

Jack immediately stood to attention, already liking where this was going. He remembered Ianto mentioning the toga, and in the ensuing mess with the three travelers from the Rift he hadn't had much time to think about it. He was certainly glad that Ianto had recalled that particular conversation. "I am," he said proudly.

The only hint of approval came from the twinkle in Ianto's eyes; otherwise, he remained completely in character. "We'll see how well you…perform." He walked around Jack, examining him minutely. A hand ghosted across his shoulders, and Jack shivered slightly, his cock taking an interest in events.

"I am Draco Brennius Iohannes," Ianto went on, his voice dropping sensuously. He circled all the way around, coming to stand in front of Jack once more. "You are mine for the evening, to do with as I see fit."

Jack nodded, processing the name that Ianto had given him. 'Draco' was Latin for 'dragon', that much he knew, but the Roman period wasn't something he was all that familiar with. 'Iohannes' was just enough like 'Ianto' that he guessed that was the name he'd gone by back then…no, it was the name he'd been born with. Ianto had just given Jack his birth name.

It was only fair that Jack do the same. He'd been meaning to, and now seemed like the perfect time. "I am Jamys Franklinson of Boeshane," he returned, standing a bit straighter as he introduced himself by the name he hadn't gone by since the Time Agency had recruited him.

Ianto looked confused, and Jack could see the moment that he understood what Jack had given him. The smile he received almost took them out of their game, but the dragon quickly regained control. "Jamys," he said, seeming to roll the name across his tongue as if he were savoring a fine cup of coffee. 'I see. I have heard of this Boeshane; perhaps you may live up to my expectations after all."

Ianto turned toward the table with the food and drink on it. He proceeded to pour what looked like red wine from the pitcher into both goblets; once he was done, he reached over toward the fruit plate and plucked up a grape. Very slowly, he lifted the fruit to his lips, and proceeded to give Jack a show as he placed the grape onto his tongue.

Damn…Ianto could make eating food sexy…

The dragon picked up both goblets, walking back over and handing one to Jack. He took a sip, following Ianto's example. It was a very fine red; Jack might not drink all that much, but that didn't mean he didn't have a decent palette for such things. He licked his lips slowly, paying Ianto back for the gesture with the grape. He had the pleasure of seeing Ianto's eyes darken a bit, and Jack did it once more, for good measure.

With a smoldering look, Ianto turned and sauntered toward the chaise. Setting his cup back down on the table, he settling onto the cushions, leaning on his left elbow, the toga shifting just enough to reveal a long expanse of leg. Jack couldn't help it; his mouth went dry and he barely resisted the urge to join his lover and run his tongue up that muscular thigh.

Instead, he took a gulp of his wine, not really tasting it any longer as he stared straight into Ianto's lust darkened eyes, knowing his looked the same.

"Come here," Ianto ordered, and Jack obeyed. He moved with alacrity, also setting his goblet down, and stood in front of his waiting lover.

Ianto looked up at him, a smirk on his face. With one hand, he reached up and began to slip the leather tongue of the sword belt through its buckle. It took a bit longer than usual, but eventually Ianto had it slipping free, and the belt fell to the floor with a rather loud thunk.

Jack knew that Ianto couldn't help but see how aroused he was becoming; he was practically face-first in his groin. But, instead of doing anything about it, Ianto simply smiled and said, "Feed me."

The growl that escaped was purely involuntary, as Jack leaned forward and plucked another grape from the plate. He held it up to Ianto's lips; with an erotic flick of his tongue, the dragon captured the grape and brought it into his mouth, but not without a light swipe across Jack's fingers as he pulled back. "Another."

This time, Jack chose a slice of orange. Ianto pursed his lips around it, and sucked it out of Jack's grasp, hollowing his cheeks and glancing upward, teasing Jack with his gaze.

Jack was practically panting as he collected another piece of fruit. He wasn't even aware of what he'd grabbed, because suddenly he felt deft fingers at the leather thong tying the loincloth around his waist. He almost fell over as he pulled back from the table, fruit in hand, and it was only Ianto's lips accepting the piece that pulled him back from the sensation of the knot being teased apart. He wanted to tell his lover to hurry, since the loincloth had stopped being comfortable about a couple of minutes ago.

The loincloth fell in soft folds around Jack's bare feet. He was glad to have it gone.

"Wine," Ianto ordered, leaning back slightly. Jack hastened to obey, grabbing one of the goblets – he didn't know, or care, which one – and held it up for his lover to drink. Ianto did so, his eyes watching Jack over the rim of the cup, and Jack noticed that they'd gained their dragon aspect.

Ianto pulled away when he'd had his fill, and Jack barely had time to react before his lover's lips were sliding around his erection.

The combination of cool wine and hot mouth just about knocked Jack to his knees. He was barely aware of the goblet clattering to the hardwood floor, as Ianto swirled his tongue around the length of Jack's shaft. He flailed out, and his hand managed to catch the chaise's single arm, and that kept him from going to the floor in a puddle of captain goo.

Ianto's arm went around him, holding him in place as the dragon worked at Jack's rock-hard penis. He moaned wantonly, trying to thrust into Ianto's mouth, but he was kept from doing so by the hand at his back.

The fire of orgasm pooled in Jack's belly, and he threw his head back as it threatened to overwhelm him. As if sensing he was that close, Ianto pulled away, and Jack whimpered at the loss of sensation.

He looked back at Ianto; the dragon was flushed, but there was a seductive smile gracing those talented lips. "I want you to ride me," he said, his voice husky with desire.

Jack nodded, and Ianto rose off the lounge, standing in front of Jack. He raised his hand, and slowly began to unwind the long piece of cloth, making it even more erotic than a striptease. Jack's fingers itched to reach over and yank the thing off, but he kept still, until Ianto stood in just the short tunic that he'd worn underneath. At that point, Jack couldn't wait, and he grasped the hem of the linen garment and practically yanked it over the dragon's head. He drank in the sight of the naked human body of his lover, running his hands through the soft chest hair, then pulling him into a kiss, tasting the fruit and wine with his questing tongue.

After a while Ianto pulled away, lying back on the chaise, and Jack straddled his hips, rubbing their erections together. Their mouths met once more in a messy kiss, Ianto grasping Jack's arse with one hand, pulling him even closer.

Jack was losing himself in Ianto, and in the back of his mind he realized that this was always going to happen, no matter how long they were together. There was something about him, something intangible, that Jack simply craved. He broke the kiss, sliding his lips down cheek to neck to collarbone, feeling the warmer-than-human skin against his questing mouth, tasting _Ianto_ under his tongue. The strong heart beat under his caress, and Ianto arced against him, urging Jack on.

He broke from worshipping his lover's body long enough to ask for lube.

"On the table," was the gasped reply.

Jack stretched his hand up, and knocked against the pitcher and plate before he found the small tube that Ianto had secreted there. He pulled back once again straddling Ianto's thighs, staring down at the mussed and flushed features of his lover. Ianto was staring back up at him, and the expression in those slitted eyes made Jack's heart soar.

He slid backward a bit farther, flipping open the tube and coating his fingers liberally. Then, his eyes still firmly on his dragon's Jack slipped his hand between his legs, and pressed the slick digits within himself.

Jack moaned, his eyes fluttering shut as he moved his fingers in and out, stretching himself. A hand rested on his thigh, holding him in place as he pleasured and prepared himself. He let his fingers work himself, imagining they were Ianto's, Ianto surrounding him and in him and before he was aware of doing anything he'd removed his fingers, used more lube to ready Ianto's hard shaft, and then he'd slid himself into place.

Ianto groaned in what sounded like a mixture of Welsh and Latin, and Jack looked down at him once more. His lover's hands – strong, capable hands – slid into place on his hips, and Jack began to move.

This connection between them…it was incredible. Jack let himself fly free, lifting himself then pressing back down onto Ianto's cock, as the dragon met him thrust for thrust, the sensations spiraling higher and higher, and Jack couldn't remember ever feeling so complete, so bonded to one person like this before. Time seemed to stop as they moved in synchronicity with one another, their mutual pleasure spiraling higher and higher.

And then he felt one of Ianto's long-fingered hands on his own cock, sliding and stroking and touching him in ways Jack had never been touched before. He shuddered and shook, and finally his orgasm roared over him like a Boeshane tidal wave, Ianto following him not even a heartbeat later.

Jack collapsed onto his lover bonelessly, his breathing hitching and sharp to his ears. He could feel Ianto's now-soft cock sliding from within him, and he wished he could regain the connection their bodies had just shared.

"Gods and Goddesses," Ianto whispered, his own harsh breathing ruffling Jack's sweat dampened hair. "Do you have any idea what you do to me?"

Jack couldn't help but giggle a little. "I have a fairly good idea, yes." He turned onto side, propping himself up on a shaky elbow, staring down into his lover's face. Ianto's eyes had returned to human, and they were smiling softly despite the smirk that graced those very kissable lips.

Ianto pulled him down to into a soft intimate kiss, their tongues tangling languorously around each other. They finished quickly, still being somewhat out of breath. "Your ego hasn't been humbled yet," he teased.

"What can I say?" Jack answered playfully. "I've even managed to tame the savage beast!"

"I'll show you tame…as soon as I get my heart back under control."

Jack looked at him fondly. "Speaking of beasts…one of these days I'd like to touch you…when you're in dragon form." It was a dream of his, that Ianto would let him become that intimate with both Ianto's human and dragon forms.

Ianto's eyes widened. "Do you mean that?" He sounded so tentative, so unsure, that it touched Jack's heart.

"I do, yes. I know this form," he motioned to the very human body next to him, "but I'd also like to know the dragon as well." He hoped he hadn't asked too much, that Ianto would agree.

Those blue eyes were regarding him closely. He must have seen something in Jack, because he nodded. "All right, if you want."

It was Jack's turn to kiss him. It was almost chaste, but it was sweet for all of that.

"Oh," he said, once they were done, "you were hot in that toga. Please say you'll wear it again sometime."

"Actually," Ianto said slyly, "I was hoping you'd wear it for me next time."

Jack grinned. "As long as you wear the loincloth."

Ianto huffed out a laugh. "All right, I will. Now, we should get some rest."

"Let's get the room cleared first, then we can get the pillows laid out and you can change. You know you don't rest well in human form. Besides," Jack suddenly felt shy, "I love lying next to you when you're a dragon."

"Then we should get to it before I doze off. You know how to give me a workout, Jamys."

Jack smiled softly at Ianto's use of his real name. "You do the same, Iohannes."

Ianto shook his head. "No, I'll only be Ianto with you. It's the name you know me by."

"Okay. But you can call me by my real name, if you want. I only ask that you don't tell anyone else; it's my gift to you."

"Agreed. Now, let's get this place straightened out. No rest for the wicked."

"So that's the real reason I don't sleep much!"

Ianto rolled his eyes, sitting up and forcibly pushing Jack off the chaise. Jack hit the floor, laughing. He scrambled to his feet, in order to get things done quickly.

Then they could curl up together, and rest the remainder of the night.


	60. Secrets and Lies

Secrets and Lies

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, I would have treated it better.

Author's note: This next chapter is a coda for "Combat". I decided that not much changed in that episode: Owen derailed, went undercover, and got into a cage with a Weevil. However, there was one thing that I didn't like about the episode: and that was Gwen didn't suffer the consequences of her actions in Retconning Rhys. That no one didn't catch her at it boggles my mind, especially after what happened with Suzie...so, anyway, this is a tag that addresses that. As such, this could be construed as being not friendly to Gwen, but I felt she shouldn't have gotten away with it. If being called down by your boss and trying to get away with something is not being nice, then I guess I'm guilty.

Anyway...on with the chapter.

* * *

><p><em><strong>3 January 2008<strong>_

"Gwen."

Gwen stiffened, turning on her heel to confront Ianto Jones. He stood in the corridor just behind her, looking oh so innocuous in his black suit and dark purple shirt, his blue eyes staring at her intently. He appeared…normal.

But she knew better.

Ianto gave her the creeps, just because he looked like anyone she might have passed on the street. Only he wasn't; he kept his true self hidden behind this façade. It was wrong. She didn't trust him, despite her colleagues' insistence to the contrary. It wasn't right that he'd kept such a secret, and people – beings – who did that really couldn't be trusted.

But that wasn't the only thing that bothered her about him.

It was his relationship with Jack.

Gwen just didn't know what was behind it. Jack could have anyone – he could have _her_, if he only said the word – but their captain had settled for a relationship with someone who wasn't even remotely human, even if he looked like one.

What sort of control did Ianto have, that Jack actually wanted to be with him? It had to be some type of coercion. It had to be. Jack might talk a big game about being with aliens, but Gwen didn't believe most of what he said, dismissing it as a big ego and simply impossible.

"I was just looking for Jack," she said, turning on her heel to leave.

"Jack and Tosh have gone to the hospital to visit Owen," he answered.

Gwen chewed her lip. That meant she was alone with Ianto, and that made her very uncomfortable. She didn't turn, hoping to get away from the Hub without too much trouble. "I should probably get home to Rhys anyway – "

"Actually, I wanted to speak to you about something. It should only take a few minutes. Let's go up to Jack's office."

"I don't really think we have anything to speak about – " She did turn then, she didn't have a choice if she wanted to leave.

"And I know you're wrong." His voice went hard. "Come with me, Gwen."

He waved her on, and Gwen strode past, not wanting him to know just how bothered she was by his presence, and the position of power he held. Together they moved into the main Hub, and Ianto ushered her toward Jack's office.

Gwen was irritated. As far as she was concerned, Ianto didn't have any right to be using Jack's office for anything. After all, he wasn't in charge…Jack was. Still, she went with him, not really having a lot of choice in the matter. She didn't have the means to go against him.

There really wasn't anything he could have against her. Gwen really had no idea what he wanted to talk about, but she figured once she got it over with she could go home to Rhys.

Ianto didn't sit at the desk; instead, he leaned against it, arms crossed over his chest. He motioned her to the visitor chair, which she declined to take. She didn't want him towering over her, trying to intimidate her. Gwen Cooper didn't intimidate easily, as the entire team had found out.

"Very well," he said, favoring her with a sharp gaze. "Gwen, what did you do with the Retcon you took from the store?"

Gwen's heart froze. He knew? How could he? She'd been so very careful, and there hadn't been anyone in the Hub when she'd taken it…She made an effort to relax, thinking to bluff it out. "I didn't take any Retcon," she snapped. "And I'm insulted by the accusation."

He suddenly looked tired. "Yes, I thought that might be your answer." Ianto turned, picking up a file that was on Jack's desk. He opened, it, handing her a photo from inside.

Gwen's hand trembled as she recognized herself, standing in the open cabinet door leading to the Retcon storage cabinet.

"After we found out about Suzie's misuse of Retcon," Ianto said, "Jack and I decided to hide a camera inside the cabinet itself. It's motion-sensitive, and will only turn on when the door is opened. That still is taken from the actual motion footage that we have of you taking the Retcon. You were caught, Gwen. Now I'd like to know who you gave it to, and why."

He stared at her, his ancient eyes implacable. Ianto was right; Gwen had been caught. But she wasn't about to go down without a fight. "I don't have to answer to you," she said sharply.

His eyes narrowed. "Yes Gwen, you do. I'm your Second, and your superior officer. You are the lowest in seniority here, although I think you sometimes forget that."

"Where's Jack?" she demanded. She didn't want to talk to him at all. It wasn't any of his business what she did. "I'll only talk to Jack." She really didn't know if Jack would be more amenable, since he'd seemed more likely to find fault with her lately than she had when she'd first started working there. But she really wanted to discuss this with him, and not Ianto.

"Jack asked me to talk to you," Ianto answered. "As I'm in charge of the Retcon. If you don't talk to me, then I'll have no choice but to suspend you without pay pending an investigation."

"You can't do that!" she exclaimed, outraged.

"I assure you, I can. What you've done is incredibly dangerous. You haven't been trained in the use of Retcon yet, and you could easily have given whoever it was the wrong dosage. We need to check on them and see if they're all right. I'm quite sure you don't want them to lose years of memories, do you?"

Gwen went cold, and she felt the blood drain from her face. She hadn't even considered that, but Rhys hadn't awakened yet that morning when she'd left for the Hub. Her hands itched to pull out her mobile and check on him, but she didn't want to do that in front of Ianto. "I'll take care of it," she said.

"No, you won't. You will tell me who you gave the Retcon to, and why. If not, you will face suspension."

His eyes were angry, and she met his glare with one of her own. She wasn't about to let him bully her. "It was a decision I had to make, and I made it for the best of reasons," she answered angrily. "I've been with Torchwood for months, and by now you should trust me."

"And yet, how can we trust you when you won't admit your mistakes?" Ianto sighed. "Fine. You're suspended until further notice. It will be up to Jack as to when you can come back to work. You can go."

Gwen bristled at being dismissed, but she stood her ground. "I don't know what you have on Jack that makes him keep you here," she growled, "but I'm going to find out."

Ianto looked surprised, then his shook his head, smiling. "Oh, Gwen. Jealousy doesn't suit you, you know."

It felt as if he'd slapped her in the face. "I'm not jealous," she denied hotly.

"Yes, you are. But then, even Jack admits that's partially his fault, with how he treated you when he first hired you. Look, you have the makings of a fine field agent, but at the rate you're going that's all you'll ever be. You don't listen; you're insubordinate; you think your own personal morality is the only correct one out there. You're close-minded. You're prejudiced. You're not willing to open yourself up to new possibilities. You treat your teammates like they're under you, when everyone in this base has more seniority than you do. You question orders even when it's on a subject you have no idea about. We know what we're doing, Gwen; we've been doing this for a long time. You need to trust us, just as we need to trust you, and right now that isn't happening."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Gwen got angrier and angrier the longer Ianto went on. By the time he was finished, her fists were clenched tightly at her sides and she was ready to launch herself across the space between them. And yet, there was a small part of her that knew he was right, but she was too stubborn to admit it. "I'm not some mindless drone like the others, who simply follow orders and never question anything!"

Ianto's face darkened. "None of this team is like that, Gwen. And if you'd bothered to pay attention, you'd know that. Both Toshiko and Owen do question things, but they do it fairly respectfully; they come to either of us and discuss things and try not to broadcast it all over the Hub. They also know when to let something lie. You don't, to either circumstance. They also accept that Jack does know what he's talking about. Jack Harkness is a very intelligent, very competent leader, who knows things that we can't possibly understand. Have you ever taken apart a time machine and put it back together? Do you speak several alien languages, including Galactic Standard? Do you have experience with literally hundreds of alien races? Can you fly a spaceship out of Earth orbit? No Gwen, you can't. None of us can. But Jack does know all of that, and a lot more besides. Don't ever think you know more than he does, because you don't and you never will."

Gwen actually took a step back from Ianto's fierce defense of Jack. She was learning more about the captain in just this conversation than she had in the entire time she'd been with Torchwood, and knowing that Ianto Jones had more knowledge about Jack than she did not only disappointed her, it bothered her as well. In the beginning she'd thought of herself as Jack's friend, the one he talked to and shared things with. She'd known that he was immortal before anyone else, and she'd been proud of the fact that he'd trusted her with that information.

But now, it looked as if she really knew nothing at all.

She had one more barb to throw. "I knew he was immortal before anyone else!"

Ianto barked a short, sharp laugh. "No you didn't, Gwen. I've known for seven years, for almost as long as I've known him. And don't think he necessarily trusted you with the truth: you found out by accident, and he never would have told you if you hadn't witnessed Suzie killing him." He sighed. "The last thing I wanted to do was get into a pissing contest with you. Go home, Gwen. Jack will call you when he wants you to come back to work."

Gwen turned, not wanting Ianto to see how disappointed and upset she was. She'd taken Jack's words that day to mean that not even Ianto had known about his immortality, and she'd been mistaken. But then, she'd only mentioned Owen and Tosh in that particular conversation; she hadn't said a word about Ianto, completely discounting him.

She wondered if Jack had noticed. And, if he would have lied about it if she had mentioned Ianto as well.

Gwen didn't want to let him have the last word, but there really wasn't a lot she could do about it, unless she wanted to track Jack down at the hospital. Yes, he'd been a bit cold toward her lately, and he'd said things about her behavior that she'd tried to take to heart – except those about Ianto, and that was because she simply didn't trust him – but she had to think that Jack still needed her there. That he'd see that a suspension was going a bit overboard, even if he may have ordered it himself. She really just wanted him to see reason…and to trust her like she thought he'd done before.

She was a few steps away from the cog door when the alarm went off and it slid open, and Jack strode through.

He looked distressed, clutching a bag of grapes in one hand. Gwen put herself in front of him, and he nearly ran her over on his way into the main Hub.

Jack stopped, staring down at her, his brows drawing together. "Gwen? What are doing here? Did you talk to Ianto?"

Gwen's heart dropped, but she didn't want Jack to know how much his question had bothered her. "I did," she answered, "and he's being completely unreasonable."

"Did you tell him what you did with the Retcon?"

"No, she didn't," Ianto's voice came from the door to Jack's office. Gwen didn't turn to look at him, wanting to maintain contact with Jack, because he would be the one whose final decision mattered.

He frowned, glancing around Gwen in Ianto's direction. "Did you suspend her?"

Betrayal flashed through her, although she'd known the suspension was under his own order. The tone of his voice suggested to her that she really didn't have a leg to stand on, but she really did want a chance to plead her case. If she could get Jack to believe in her, the way she believed in him…

"I did, however I suspect she will want to see if she can get you to change your mind."

Jack looked down at her once more, a disappointed expression on his face. "And what's so unreasonable about the punishment, Gwen? You have no idea what you're doing with Retcon, and could have injured someone badly. Did you think of that before you took it without asking?"

Gwen could handle anger from Jack; she'd done it before, and had managed to hold her own to an extent. But disappointment…that got to her, because the last thing she wanted to do was disappoint Jack Harkness.

"Maybe you can get it out of her," Ianto added. "She just wants to argue with me."

"It's not going to stop the suspension," Jack said. "You're my Second, and she has to understand that what you say, goes."

This wasn't going how she'd hoped. Gwen had really thought that she might have a chance that Jack might reverse it, because she was needed in Torchwood. Had he lied to her? But why would he do that?

"She thinks I have something on you, so you'll keep me around." The amusement in Ianto's voice just rammed home the knowledge that Gwen really didn't have a clue about either of them.

Gwen's jaw nearly dropped at the sudden look of adoration on Jack's handsome features. "She'd be right about that, but not in the way she thinks." His attention was back on her. "Did you tell her we know who she Retconned anyway?"

Her eyes widened. _No…how could they?_

"I didn't, no." Ianto stepped up beside Jack. His eyes were sad. "We know it was Rhys," he said, "and we also know why."

Her knees went weak. "Are you spying on me?" she wanted to make it sound like a demand, but it was more like a plea. All these months, she'd honestly believed that Jack had trusted her…

"Every person who joins Torchwood is put under six months' observation," Jack said. "It's standard protocol. We have cameras and listening devices all throughout your flat. We saw exactly what happened. I can't believe you actually Retconned Rhys, _before_ even telling him that you slept with Owen. What was the point of confessing if he didn't remember it? That's not what people who love each other do. You have no idea how disappointed we are."

"We wanted to give you the chance to come clean," Ianto added. "If you had, we would have removed the surveillance equipment and you would never have known, and we would have called the observation off. But what you did was potentially dangerous, Gwen. So much could have gone wrong, just because you had the urge to confess and have Rhys forgive you…well, we know how that went."

Gwen didn't even know she was crying until she tasted the salt of her tears on her lips. They knew it all, and she'd blown her chance to be honest and build a relationship with both of them. But no, she'd had to hold on to her prejudices against Ianto, and instead of getting a mere slap on the wrist, she'd earned an open-ended suspension. After that, there was no telling what might happen. Would they try to Retcon her once more? Sure, she'd broken it once, but even she knew that had only been a fluke, that it had been a lucky set of circumstances that had triggered her memories. This time, they would make certain she didn't remember.

She opened her mouth to say something; anything, to regain what trust she'd just lost.

But nothing came out.

There really wasn't anything she could say.

"Go home, Gwen," Jack ordered softly. "Go home to Rhys, and remember what you're fighting for. Remember that he loves you, and has stayed by you even through the intense secrecy of Torchwood. He's a good man, and deserves better. And, when you come back, we'll have to start all over."

"And the surveillance equipment stays in place," Ianto said. "If you're going to do something like this to someone you say you love, then I think we'll be keeping our eye on you for a while longer."

She nodded. Darting past the two of them, Gwen practically ran out of the Hub, the grinding noise of the cog door closing behind her with an almost final sound.


	61. Fire Dragon's Warning

The Fire Dragon's Warning

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, which is a shame

Author's note: Sorry about the delay, but I wanted to get my other fics posted first. I do still have one more to do, and I'll get that up, but I didn't want to leave you all hanging on this one! This is another standalone chapter, leading up to the Dragon-verse version of "Captain Jack Harkness" and "End of Days".

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

><p><em><strong>15 January 2008<strong>_

Toshiko entered her flat, tossing her bag and laptop case down onto the sofa, and toeing her shoes off as she headed toward her kitchen. She was shattered, but wired at the same time. A Rift flare had sent the team out to Butetown, to a debris trail that had taken them hours to clean up. Luckily nothing alive had been within whatever it was; it would have been a terrible way to die.

And it had just been the three of them; Owen hadn't answered his mobile, and Jack was incensed. Owen had been cleared for duty just that morning, too, so there had been no reason for him to ignore the call. When she'd left the Hub, Ianto had been arguing with him, in a failed attempt to calm their captain down before he went out to confront their medic. With Gwen having been suspended indefinitely, the clean-up had been almost too much for them.

She sighed. Certainly, they'd all lost people, but Owen was acting like this was the first time it had ever happened to him. Diane had left of her own accord, not wanting to be tied down when a whole new world lay before her, and Toshiko couldn't blame her in the slightest. However Owen was being way too melodramatic for having only known her barely a week, and it was putting too much stress on an already stretched-to-the-limit team.

Pottering around her kitchen as she prepared a cup of tea and some toast, Toshiko couldn't escape the feeling there was something going on behind the scenes. The way Owen was acting…Gwen actually Retconning her own boyfriend due to the need to confess…these weren't the signs of rational thinking. Toshiko thought very rationally, and she could see that Owen's behavior was out of character. Gwen, she wasn't certain about, not really knowing her all that well, but after what had happened with Suzie's strange plot had she truly thought she could get away with taking the Retcon?

After Jack and Ianto, Toshiko was the longest serving member of Torchwood Three. She'd seen so many bizarre things in her time, that it had her instincts tingling. There really wasn't anything she could pin down, and without any proof she couldn't bring it to her bosses.

So lost in her thoughts Toshiko didn't notice her flat getting warmer until she had her tea and toast and was heading back into her lounge.

When she did feel how uncomfortable it was getting, she made a detour to the thermostat on her wall. The furnace was on, but she always turned it down low when she left for the Hub, since it didn't make sense to heat an empty flat. Holding her piece of toast between her teeth, she reached out, thinking she'd forgotten to do just that before she'd gone in…

Only the thermostat was where she normally set it in the morning.

Frowning around her toast, Toshiko mentally cursed. This was all she needed…to have her heater burn out or something. Maybe she could get Ianto in to look at it; the dragon knew his way around such things, from his time running the inn. Maybe he could figure it out before the thing went balls' up… Toshiko might know computers and alien tech, but sometimes it was the ordinary things that stumped her.

She programmed it down a bit further, hoping to cut the strain on the unit, then headed toward her sofa, and that was when she noticed the fire in her lounge.

Torchwood trained reflexes came to the fore, and Toshiko darted into the kitchen, looking for her extinguisher. In her haste she still managed to set her teacup down on the countertop as she reached underneath for the small extinguisher she kept on hand. She headed quickly back into the lounge, aiming the nozzle toward the flame...

"_Please do not use that on me," _a laughing female voice exclaimed. _"I mean no harm."_

Toshiko gaped. The flame wasn't actually burning anything, even though she could feel the heat of it against her skin. It hovered off the floor, twisting and serpentine, one part of it leaning toward her. She only noticed the eyes because they were more red than orange.

Wings unfurled from the flame-form.

Sighing, Toshiko put the extinguisher down. "Sorry about that," she said. "I wasn't expecting the Fire Dragon to show up in my flat tonight."

"_I should think not!"_ the dragon answered. _"Although I do apologize for my somewhat…dramatic appearance. My brother, the Earth Dragon, would have come to you himself, but as I was already manifesting on this plane it was decided I would speak to you."_

"It's fine. Just be glad that Ianto told me about all four Great Dragons, or else I would have used the suppressant on you anyway." She set the canister down, and pushed her belongings aside so she could collapse onto the sofa. This would also explain why it was so hot in the flat. "Can I ask why you're here? I mean, I thought you couldn't appear without those posts…"

"_That was the case before you took the Earth Dragon's mark. We may now use that as a concentration object, although the power to do so is incredible. We would only use it in case of emergency."_

Toshiko sat up, suddenly afraid. "What is it?"

The Fire Dragon writhed in place. _"I know not what the young one has told you of us…"_

"I know that you're one of the Great Dragons; that you have vast powers over the elements of this world," she answered. "I also heard the invocation Ianto made."

The dragon's fiery head bobbed once. _"I am the Fire Dragon…although that's obvious." _She laughed, then turned solemn once more. _"I have the honor of keeping the soul of this world burning brightly. But, I and my siblings also exist outside of Time itself, much like the Fae do."_

Toshiko couldn't help but shiver slightly at the mention of the fairies.

The dragon must have noticed, because she said, _"You would do well to fear them, for they are capricious, only held in check by the Pacts they've made. However, they are not important; what is, is that we have seen something that we must warn you about. Great evil is coming, dragon-friend, and you must be wary of it."_

"Why are you telling me this? Why not Ianto, or Jack?"

"_Because they are in the middle of it all." _The dragon thrashed agitatedly. _ "Has either of them told you of the Tarot girl?"_

Toshiko frowned. "No, I'm sure I would've remembered something like that."

"_There are many ancient powers in the Universe, and she is one of them. There are legends about her, and just what she is, but they are all wrong. She is nearly as capricious as the Fae, a trickster of sorts; reading a being's future and then making such readings seem unbreakable, although there are ways to do so if someone knows how."_

A bead of sweat dripped into Toshiko's eye, and she scrubbed it away roughly. "Are you saying she's done a reading for Ianto?" Something they'd once said was niggling at the back of her mind…

"_And for his mate. Those given to Jack Harkness are not what we need to discuss, at least not yet; although the time is coming when that prophecy will also lead to great evil, and you and the other dragon-friends will be summoned to the aid of the sanctuary. No, it is the one that our young one heard, not long after coming to this place."_

"What was it?" Toshiko wasn't sure she believed in prophecy, but then she hadn't believed in ancient dragon spirits until not that long ago. She also wanted to know more about these other dragon-friends, but thought that could wait.

"_She foretold that the young one would have his heart broken four times, by his mate. But, afterward, they would come to an understanding. She made it sound like a foregone conclusion, but that is her power: to make the one she prophesies to believe what she is saying."_

Toshiko shook her head. "Jack would never do that to Ianto. He loves him!" That was it…back when Jack had had his dream, and they'd asked her to help them figure out what was going on. It had sounded like a riddle at the time, but what the Fire Dragon was saying, was putting that odd conversation in perspective.

"_It has already happened twice: once with the hiring of Gwen Cooper, whom he thought was taking his place; and the other, were the events leading up to the death of the damaged one; the one who called herself Lisa." _

That made sense. Toshiko nodded, remembering how Ianto had reacted to Gwen being brought in, and how much trust he'd lost in Jack before it had been revealed that he'd been caring for the black dragon. Lisa's death – even though he'd had to do it himself – had been the only possible outcome to all that distrust and anger, and he could so easily have blamed Jack for that as well if he'd loved their captain any less. "So you're saying it's supposed to happen twice more? I still say Jack would never hurt Ianto, not deliberately."

"_I would agree with you. But something is coming, Toshiko Sato, dragon-friend, and it will facilitate the last of the prophecy. Already it is working within your team, your family, and it will culminate in disaster if we cannot stop it."_

Toshiko considered the dragon's words. Yes, she could see it; the team was more divisive than it had ever been in the time she'd been in it, what with Gwen's attitude and Owen's current behavior. Jack and Ianto seemed to be solid, but if there was any doubt in Ianto's mind that Jack loved him…the team could easily splinter apart under the right circumstances. "What is it?" she asked, ready to do what she needed to protect her family.

"_Unfortunately, we cannot be certain. It is so much simpler to see into the past than it is the future; moments traveling from this one become more and more fluid the farther we get away. But something is working to come between our sons, and your teammates. If it does, then there will be much death and destruction. Be alert, dragon-friend. Watch for anything that might seem out of character for those around you. It may be the only warning you have."_

"I will." Toshiko wished there was more information to go by, but she would do the best she could.

"_I do not know when we can next appear to you, and our powers in the world cannot help you in this. I wish we could, but we have been diminished. We can no longer affect the physical plane as we once did. If we could, we would fight this battle for you. But it is up to you and our two sons and your team. Beware, Toshiko. If this cannot be stopped…"_

She shivered, despite the heat the dragon was throwing off. "Yeah, I get the idea," she snorted. "I've been in Torchwood long enough to know Armageddon when I see it."

The Fire Dragon laughed. _"I imagine you do." _Her form began to waver. _"I must go. The power keeping me physical is waning. Know that we trust you, Toshiko. You are a true dragon-friend."_

With those parting words, the Fire Dragon vanished in a flash, leaving Toshiko in a flat that was far too warm for comfort, and fear nibbling at her heart.

She would keep an eye out.

She would be ready.

And she had a phone call to make.


	62. Knight of Cups Chapter One

Knight of Cups - Chapter One

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, which is a shame.

Author's note: Well, here we go...the Dragon-Verse version of "Captain Jack Harkness". The title has to do with the Tarot reading that Ianto received at the beginning of the story: the cards being Page of Swords, the Moon, the Knight of Cups, and the Hermit. I think you can all guess who the Knight of Cups card refers to...

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

><p><em><strong>21 January 2007<strong>_

"_Jones…you managing to keep Himself in line?"_

Ianto smiled, tucking the mobile against his shoulder as he worked at his computer. "Detective Swanson," he greeted her. "Always a pleasure. What can we do for Cardiff's finest?" It had been several weeks since he'd last heard from her, and he was genuinely glad to have gotten the call.

"_Got a report I thought was right up your alley," _Kathy answered. _"There's been music coming from an old, abandoned dance hall on Sage Street. Neighbors say it's been going on for the last couple of days."_

The dragon was intrigued. "No sign of a break-in?"

"_Nope. Place is boarded up tight. We contacted the property manager, and he denied letting the place out for any sort of party."_

"That does sound interesting." Ianto typed some commands into his computer, to see if there was a record of anything like that in the Archives. "What was the address?"

Kathy gave it to him, and he put that into his search as well. There were some records dating from 1941, but they hadn't been digitized as yet; only a file number existed in the database. He frowned; all of those papers should have been entered; he couldn't imagine why he hadn't, unless the file had been misplaced. Knowing the people who'd been caretakers of the Archives before he'd arrived, that was most likely the case.

Still, he felt it personally, and would take a look for it as soon as he could.

"Can you get us in?" he asked.

"_Told the manager – creepy guy named Manger – that we'd be sending someone round to investigate, and to have the place open for when they arrived."_

"Thank you, Detective…for both the heads' up, and the assistance in gaining entrance to the scene."

"_No problem, Jones. This is more your style than the local coppers'. You're more than welcome to it."_

Ianto chuckled. "I was wondering if you'd be interested in dinner at some point."

"_Are you asking me on a date?"_ she laughed. _"What would Himself say?"_

"Oh, he'd get jealous and most likely stalk us throughout the meal," he joked.

Kathy snorted. _"Just what I need to be put off my dinner. You're on. Let me know when and where. Oh, and somewhere nice, and not the local chippy. I know you damned well get paid more than I do, and can afford to treat me."_

Ianto rolled his eyes. "I think you're just using me for my expense account."

"_Damned straight. Now, get to work, so the locals aren't scared shitless to go out at night."_

"Yes, ma'am!"

"_Don't be cheeky. Take care, Jones."_

"You too, Detective." Ianto flipped his phone closed, not bothering to get up out of his chair. "You know I always know where you are," he teased.

The distinct sound of boot heels on metal announced Jack's presence. "That's just so unfair. Remind me never to ask you to play Naked Hide and Seek; you'd cheat."

Ianto spun around in his chair. Jack stood just outside arms' reach, looking a bit miffed. "And you wouldn't?" the dragon asked, arching an eyebrow in Jack's direction.

"Point taken. So…what did the lovely Detective Swanson want, besides flirting with my lover?" There was a slight tinge of jealously in Jack's voice.

"How many times have I told you that you don't have to be jealous?" It was actually cute, in a way. "And I asked her…she didn't ask me." Ianto stood, getting right up into Jack's personal space. He could feel the immortal's slightly higher body temperature against what little skin was exposed around his suit. "You have nothing to worry about, now stop being this way, all right?"

Blue eyes met blue, and Jack darted his head forward just enough to press a very quick kiss to Ianto's lips. "All right," he said. "Now, did Detective Swanson have anything for us?"

"She did." Ianto stepped back, turning back to his desk. He grabbed a post-it and a pen, and scribbled down the address Kathy had given him. "She says that there's music coming from a boarded up dance hall. The police have checked it out, and there's been no sign of break-in."

Jack plucked the note from Ianto's fingers, letting his own caress the dragon's hand. "Did you get us access?"

Ianto nodded. "She spoke to the property manager and he's going to leave it open for you. I did check the Archives but there's only a single file listed from 1941, and it hasn't been scanned into the system yet."

"There's something you didn't get sorted?" Jack teased. "Shame on you."

The dragon barely resisted the urge to smack him. "Why don't I go and find the file, while you and Toshiko check it out? I'll get you on the comm. when I find anything."

It had just been the three of them for weeks, since Owen had decided that climbing into a cage with a Weevil was a really good idea, and Gwen had earned herself a suspension for misusing Retcon…and on her own boyfriend. Ianto didn't understand the purpose of doing it; why attempt to get absolution for something when the other person didn't remember being asked for it in the first place?

They'd discussed both problems. Owen's increasingly strange behavior was bordering on the unhinged, and Jack had actually considered sending him out to Flat Holm for a bit. But Ianto had talked him out of it, not certain that that was what their medic needed. Owen wasn't even coming in most of the times he was called, and when he did he came in drunk. And, on the rare days he came in to actually work, he'd get into rows with Jack over the smallest things. Owen blamed Jack for Diane's leaving, and didn't make a secret about it. Why her leaving should affect him so badly, Ianto had no idea, and it had been by her own choice anyway.

As for Gwen…Jack had decided that they would let up the suspension as of Wednesday; that would give her three weeks off, and hopefully she's used the time to get some perspective. However, there were other reasons as well, Owen not coming in the main one. It was becoming increasingly difficult for just the three of them to handle things, and Ianto wondered how they'd ever managed back when it had been just himself, Jack, and Suzie. They'd been the only members of the team for three years, before Jack had hired Toshiko. He recalled that it had been difficult, but they'd handled it. It just seemed that things were busier now, and it was getting too much for just them. Toshiko thought there was something in the equations to point to the increase in activity, and she'd been working on a program to figure out what was going on, but he wasn't certain if she'd found out anything. She'd become convinced that she could open the Rift using those equations, but Jack had been adamant that they not try. Messing with the Rift was just too dangerous.

Also, there was something off about Toshiko. Both he and Jack had tried to broach the subject a couple of times, but their friend had simply shrugged it off, saying it was just her being tired. Ianto wasn't sure why he didn't believe her, but it was puzzling as to why she wouldn't share what was bothering her. Although Ianto knew for certain that she'd tried to speak to Owen about his behavior, and to Gwen about what she'd done, in an attempt to get the team working together again.

It apparently had not worked.

Ianto had tried as well, with the same result. When Jack had done the same, Owen had called him every name in the book – still blaming him for Diane's leaving – and had slammed his flat door in Jack's face. Gwen had simply asked when she could come back, but had not asked for any sort of forgiveness, even though it was obvious she'd learned her lesson.

The team was falling apart, and Ianto didn't know how they could stop it from happening short of a major incident bringing them back together.

Jack leaned down and quickly bussed Ianto on the cheek, then practically bounced away, calling for Toshiko as he did so. That was something else: Toshiko had planned on going to her grandfather's birthday today, but had cancelled her plans. Ianto had tried to convince her to go, but she'd refused, saying she was needed in Cardiff with the team down two members. Ianto couldn't argue with her, but he didn't want her putting her family life on hold for Torchwood.

Ianto turned back toward his computer, trying to find more information on the dance hall. It had been called the Ritz, and it had been in use since before World War Two, and up until 1989, when it had finally been closed. There hadn't been any sort of recorded Rift activity – except for whatever Torchwood had investigated back in 1941 – so Ianto hoped that it would be nothing. He really wanted to consult that file, and wondered how long it would take him to locate it. Jack had been teasing, but he'd been right: Ianto had left something unsorted, and now it was coming back to haunt him.

Well, with any luck Jack and Tosh would figure it out if he couldn't find the information.

Slipping his comm. in his ear, Ianto headed down to the Archives just as he heard Jack and Toshiko exiting toward the garage entrance. The dragon considered the Archives as a part of his hoard, and had spent much of his time getting it cleaned and organized to just the way he wanted it. He took great pride in the job he'd done, and just knowing that a loose file was rattling around in it was enough to upset his sensibilities.

He headed straight into the 1940's section, toward the long row of file cabinets that held all of Torchwood's field reports for the decade. Not many people knew just how extensive the Archives were; certain sections even ran under the Bay, while others burrowed deep into the bedrock under Cardiff itself. There were sections of the Cardiff Hub that Ianto hadn't even seen; although he knew at some point they would become as familiar to him as the common areas were.

The dragon made his way to the cabinet marked '1941' and stared at the drawers, his hands on his hips. The three drawers had handwritten cards on them, separated by month. Sighing, Ianto started at the top, _January-April._

The file he wanted was in the January section.

Ianto frowned. He pulled an envelope out of the cabinet, the reference number in black marker in his own hand. He held it, weighing it absently as he wondered why he would have marked it and put it away without scanning it.

From the weight, there was something substantial inside. Ianto closed the cabinet back up, then taking the envelope he headed back up into the main Hub, interested in what he'd found and wondering what was inside.

"_Hey, gorgeous,"_ Jack's voice came over his comm. _"We're here. Place is pretty much deserted."_

Ianto toggled on his own comm. "According to the town planning records, it was called the Ritz. It was in use up until 1989, when it was abandoned."

"_I remember places like this," _Jack reminisced. _"They were…wait…Toshiko, do you hear that?"_

Ianto thought he could barely hear something through his lover's comm., even as Toshiko was answering Jack's question.

"_I hear it,"_ she said, wonder in her voice.

"_Shall we go in?"_ Jack asked, almost playfully.

"Be careful, you two," Ianto said, making his way to Toshiko's workstation, the better to pull up the CCTV for the area. He only found one working camera, and all it showed was the SUV, parked at the curb across from what had to have been the dance hall, although Ianto couldn't really see it from the angle he had.

"_Oh yeah,"_ Jack said enthusiastically. "_Look at that chandelier. No neon lights back then…just handsome young soldiers and pretty young ladies."_

Ianto couldn't help but smile. Jack had a certain fondness for the 1940's, despite the war that hung over most of the decade. He'd done his best to convert Ianto to the music of the decade, and despite the dragon's best efforts to remain untainted he had to admit it had worked. It helped that Jack liked to dance to it, and Ianto wasn't averse to enjoying the closeness dancing provided.

A sudden whooping from Toshiko brought a smile to Ianto's face; he could imagine Jack grabbing their friend and swinging her around the once-beautiful dance floor. "Put the technician down, Harkness," he warned, not disguising the smile in this voice.

"_You're no fun, Jones," _Jack teased back. _"There's nothing here, just memories and dust."_

Ianto was about to recommend them to come back, when he felt the unmistakable sensation of a Rift spike building.

When the Rift was inactive, the combination of space/time energy caressed his exposed skin or scales like a gentle wave. However, the incoming spike was like an approaching tsunami, thundering toward him inexorably.

"Jack," he barked, "there's going to be a Rift spike. You might want to head back."

He heard Jack acknowledge, telling Toshiko that they needed to get back to the Hub.

And then, with a final crackle, the comm. went dead.

The Rift alarm sounded throughout the Hub.


	63. Knight of Cups Chapter Two

Knight of Cups - Chapter Two

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood at all. Sad, really.

Author's note: And here's the second chapter! Thanks for everyone who read the last chapter and the story so far, and I hope you enjoy this part!

* * *

><p><em><strong>21 January 1941<strong>_

"_Jack,"_ Ianto's voice echoed over Toshiko's comm., _"there's going to be a Rift spike. You might want to head back."_

Jack looked somewhat disappointed, but he turned. "C'mon," he said, "Let's head back to the Hub. We can come back later and check things out more thoroughly."

Toshiko let herself be ushered toward the entrance. Behind them, the unmistakable sound of a live band rose behind them, and the hair rose on the back of her neck. Muted voices followed them as they left, and only Jack's hand on the small of her back felt like an anchor to her only reality.

She'd taken her PDA with her, the better to get readings on what was going on within the old dance hall. She still held it, and when it suddenly squealed it startled her so badly she almost dropped it.

_Rift spike._

Jack cursed, urging her forward. He knew, just as she did.

The spike was there…at the dance hall.

Toshiko's heart speeded up, and adrenaline flooded her body. The entrance was a few steps away, and she hoped they were out of the range of the spike.

They stepped outside…

It was night, when it had been daytime when they'd gone in to investigate.

Toshiko looked around. The SUV – which Jack had parked haphazardly across the street – was gone, as was the trash and the 'Vote Saxon' posters and the run-down buildings that had surrounded the dance hall. There were no lights on in the area, but it was obvious that things had changed just from how clean everything looked.

They'd been taken by the Rift. It was the only explanation.

She wanted to panic. She really did. Toshiko panned her PDA around, hoping to get some sort of reading she could work with, something that would get them back to where they'd been.

"We've been moved in time," Jack said. He had his wrist strap opened, and she knew he was taking readings as well.

Toshiko turned to look at him, her eyes catching a poster on the wall, barely illuminated in the pale moonlight. It declared that there was a _'Kiss the Boys Goodbye' Dance, 21 January 1941_, in the very dance hall they'd just left.

"Exactly 67 years," she murmured. She glanced down at her PDA; the area was swimming in Rift energy, denoting quite a powerful spike. That sense of panic returned with a vengeance, but she controlled it.

"C'mon," Jack said. "Let's go back inside. That's where we crossed over. Oh, and you might want to put the tech away, since it hasn't been invented yet."

Toshiko nodded. That made sense, so she shut the PDA down and tucked it back into her coat pocket. Jack offered her his arm; she took it, and they headed back into the dance hall.

The place had changed, as well.

It was softly lit, the chandelier glowing overhead. Couples milled about; men in their uniforms and women in brightly colored dresses mingled together, quiet conversation and laughter echoing around in equal measure. Music was playing from another room; that must have been the actual ballroom, and judging from the people moving in and out, it was quite busy.

She certainly hoped no one noticed her trousers and boots. They certainly weren't the style there, and she was afraid that she'd stick out like a sore thumb.

Jack maneuvered them toward the wall, to be out of the way. "We're really in 1941," Toshiko murmured.

"Yep," Jack said, sounding inordinately pleased with the idea.

"You don't have to be so happy about it," she snapped, carefully keeping her voice pitched low. "We need to figure out a way to get back."

"The Rift spits out flotsam and jetsam all the time," Jack said soothingly. "We'll get back. Besides, we have a dragon working on our side, and there's no one I'd trust with getting us home more than Ianto Jones. Well…there's you too," he added, winking.

Toshiko rolled her eyes at the platitude. "Only problem is, I have the readings here that Ianto might need." She absently patted the pocket that held her PDA.

"Ianto can scan the area too. Plus, he has those senses of his. He'll figure it out."

She knew Jack was right. She simply had to relax and wait. "There's also the fact that I'm Japanese – "

"Don't worry," he said, smiling down at her. "You're with the Captain. I'll look after you. Come on, let's try to blend in a bit."

Toshiko really just wanted to hide out somewhere and wait for Ianto to find some way to find them, but she let Jack lead her deeper into the dance hall. She didn't like being there, and it wasn't because they were trapped away from their own time. It was the feeling that something was going on around her, beyond the Rift spike, that she couldn't escape from.

Ever since the Fire Dragon had come to her, Toshiko had been on the lookout for anything strange going on. She'd watched as the team got farther and farther apart. Owen blamed Jack for Diane leaving, despite Toshiko's own efforts to convince him otherwise. She simply couldn't understand why he was taking it so hard; he could actually contact her anytime, Diane having reached Toshiko via email several times over the weeks since she'd left. Toshiko had even left the address for Owen, but according to Diane's last email he hadn't gotten in touch. If he loved her that much, then why wasn't he emailing her?

As for Gwen…she seemed genuinely sorry for what had happened, and for that Toshiko had been grateful. She might not get along with the woman, and Toshiko really couldn't condone what Gwen had done, but they were teammates and should be able to stick together. But Gwen still didn't trust Ianto at all, and when asked she'd claimed it was because the dragon was keeping secrets, Toshiko had pointed out that everyone had secrets, even Gwen, and did she want to share hers with the rest of the team? At that Gwen had gone back into stubborn mode, and the technician had left with a bad feeling about it all.

She'd often thought about telling Jack and Ianto about her fiery visitor…and would always decide against it. If the Fire Dragon was right, then the pair were in the middle of it all, and Toshiko didn't want to make things worse by upsetting either of them. Both of them seemed to be getting closer and closer as the days progressed, and Toshiko had decided that settling in to watch out for trouble was the best thing. She honestly didn't want to worry them; and, what if telling them brought about the very danger that the Dragon had foretold? No, Toshiko would do as she'd promised: she'd watch, and wait, and make sure to be ready if something did happen.

It helped that she had back-up in the form of Rhiannon Davies, who'd also claimed that there were two other dragon-friends out there who she could contact if needed. Toshiko didn't know who they were, but she trusted Rhiannon despite never having met her.

Jack escorted her to the bar, where he ordered a water for himself and a brandy for Toshiko. She really didn't want to drink anything alcoholic, feeling the need to keep her wits about her, but she couldn't very well turn it down once he'd ordered it.

"I haven't seen you around here before."

Toshiko turned at the voice. It was a young man, wearing an RAF uniform, practically smirking at her.

"Three and six, sir," the bartender said, drawing her attention back to Jack, wondering just how he was supposed to pay for the drinks when the only money they had was from their own time?

"I'll get them," the airman offered, sliding the money across the bar.

"Thank you," Jack said, picking up the brandy and setting it in front of Toshiko.

"On one condition." Toshiko wasn't certain he liked his smile, even though it seemed perfectly friendly.

"What's that?" Jack asked, frowning slightly.

Toshiko found her hand grabbed, and was being pulled out onto the dance floor before she could protest. The airman pulled her toward him, and began to dance.

She was hideously uncomfortable. It wasn't the dancing; Toshiko enjoyed it, and felt she didn't get to go clubbing enough anymore. But this…with a total stranger, in a time not her own, and being from a race that were being considered possible enemy combatants at that moment…it just felt wrong.

Toshiko got a glimpse of Jack; he was grinning at her predicament. It was all right for him; from his stories, he'd lived through this time, and he knew what to expect. She didn't, and she was working without a net. It wasn't pleasant, and she wished that Ianto would hurry up and get them back home already.

The young man tried to engage her in conversation, but Toshiko didn't oblige. She didn't feel like talking. It surprised her that this situation was spooking her so badly; after all, she was Torchwood, and she'd been in worse situations than dancing to a live band in the arms of a handsome soldier. It was the disconnect, she realized; the disconnect between what she was seeing and what she was feeling. What she was seeing was a dance hall in the 1940's; what she was feeling was endangered. And there was nothing to indicate that she was in trouble in any way; everyone appeared normal to her, or as normal as war-torn Cardiff could.

"Mind if I cut in?"

Her thoughts were derailed by Jack's voice at her elbow. She was pitifully glad that he was there.

"I'm only borrowing her, mate," the airman said, his arms tightening around Toshiko's waist.

"What if I don't want to be borrowed?" she asked sharply, not enjoying the feeling of being an object someone would just pick up and use until they were done with her.

The soldier looked surprised. Before he could say anything, Jack interjected. "You could always dance with me if you like," he leered. It was a deliberate offence, given the time they were in, and Jack didn't look at all repentant.

That comment got her released from her would-be partner's grasp. The airman in turn pushed Jack away, and Jack simply grinned.

"Okay, you can even lead," her friend said teasingly. With that, Jack pushed the young man back. He took Toshiko's hand. "Let's go, Toshiko," he said, drawing her away.

That earned a punch to Jack's face that almost had them both on the hardwood floor.

Toshiko fought to regain her balance, and a large hand on her elbow helped. She looked up into the blue eyes of a very handsome man, with dark hair and wearing what looked to be a Group Captain's uniform. He smiled softly at her. "Are you all right, miss?" he asked solicitously, his accent obviously American.

"Yes," she answered, nodding. "Thank you."

"Anytime." The captain kept his hand on her elbow as he turned to look at the belligerent airman. "Cut it out, kiddo," he ordered softly.

The airman pulled back the fist he was about to let fly. "But Captain – " he started.

The captain shook his head. "I think you owe the gentleman an apology, George."

George blushed slightly. "I was only dancing."

"I think it was your fist he was objecting to," the captain commented, "and not your foxtrot."

The young man couldn't look Jack in the eye, but his "I'm sorry" certainly sounded contrite.

"It's okay," Jack said, "you barely got me."

The crowd chuckled in relief, and it was at that point that Toshiko realized just how much attention they were garnering. She wanted to curse, but knew it would be frowned upon in this time. It was just something ladies didn't do in that time.

"I think the lady deserves an apology as well," the captain added.

George did meet her eyes, and he looked suitably chastened. "Sorry, Miss."

"Apology accepted," Toshiko said, wanting to break up the tension that had risen because of the altercation.

A couple of soldiers pulled George away, one of them offering to buy him a drink. Toshiko turned back to her rescuer, in order to thank him properly.

"It's all right, Miss," he said pleasantly. "The boys are just a bit lively tonight, since it's the last day of OTU tomorrow. They're just blowing off a bit of steam."

"It's fine," she said. "He just caught me off guard."

The captain turned to Jack. "Are you a volunteer, too?"

"Yeah," Jack answered, seeming to easily fall into the persona of a World War II flyer. He held out his hand to the captain, who shook it firmly. "I'm Captain – " Then laughed, as the captain had said the exact same thing. "You first, please."

The captain laughed as well. "I'm Captain Jack Harkness, 133rd."

Toshiko froze, looking between both men in shock. _Captain Jack Harkness? _

Of course, she knew about Jack; about how he'd been born in the future, and how he'd come to the past where he'd met the Doctor. He'd explained it to her, the night he'd confessed his immortality to her. Jack hadn't gone into a lot of detail, but she'd assumed that Jack Harkness was his real name.

If she didn't know her Jack as well as she did, she would have missed her bosses' own surprise flash across his face. He opened his mouth to speak, but an obsequious voice interrupted what Jack had been about to say.

"Look this way, please."

It was automatic to do so. Toshiko turned, and found herself looking at an elderly man, dressed in a suit with a cravat instead of a tie. He looked normal…but there was something about this eyes that disturbed her.

Then a camera came up in front of his face, and a flash blinded her.


	64. Knight of Cups Chapter Three

Knight of Cups - Chapter Three

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, sorry about that!

Author's note: Welcome to the next chapter! Thanks to everyone reading this, the old readers and the new. I'm glad you're enjoying it!

* * *

><p><em><strong>21 January 2008<strong>_

Ianto cursed. He dropped the envelope down on Toshiko's station, using her more sensitive equipment to pull everything he could up on the Rift spike. He hadn't even considered that the spike would have been located at the dance hall; but he should have, since they were there to investigate for weird occurrences just like what would be caused by Rift activity. A spike should have been expected to happen, but instead Jack and Toshiko had been caught up in one, and anything could have happened to them.

He tried to control his panic, and barely managed. Ianto was well aware of just what the Rift could do to those taken by it. He'd seen the survivors dropped back; had taken them out to Flat Holm for care. It had been a fluke that John Ellis, Diane Holmes, and Emma Cowell had survived their trip intact. More often than not those stolen by the Rift were left broken, and he shuddered at thinking of his lover and best friend being at the mercy of one of the most capricious forces of nature.

The dragon shook his head, concentrating on what Toshiko's computers were telling him. The PDA that Tosh had taken with her had been recording and transmitting readings up until the Rift spike, and Ianto studied them closely, as if they would give him the answers he sought. The instrument had caught the ramp-up of the spike, but nothing beyond that. He cursed again. This wasn't going to get him anywhere.

He needed to go and take readings onsite.

Ianto chewed his lip absently. If he did go, it would mean time lost in trying to figure out just where Jack and Toshiko had gone. The readings confused him; normally only negative Rift spikes took people, and this hadn't been one. Negative spikes felt different; they were like the icy chill of winter, whereas a normal spike was all summer thunder and fury. No, the Rift had done something different this time and Ianto knew that, if he could figure out why, then he'd be on the way to understanding what had happened to the two people he was closest to in the world.

There was only one thing for it: he needed to call in help.

He considered his options as mainframe chewed on the various calculations involved in the spike. Owen knew the way around the equipment, but Ianto knew getting him to do anything would be like pulling teeth, and he was most likely drunk. Gwen had been trained on the equipment, but had never used it out in the field. However, she'd be the easiest of the pair to call in, and Ianto was willing to deal with her hostility as long as it got Jack and Toshiko back home.

Ianto sighed, pulling his mobile out. He used speed dial to call, and waited while the phone on the other end rang.

Just as he was thinking it would go to voice mail, it was answered. _"What the hell do you want, Dragon Boy?"_

Ianto almost sighed with relief. It had been a gamble to try Owen first, but he was taking experience over availability at the moment. "You have a portable Rift scanner." It wasn't a question; everyone should have a fully stocked kit in their vehicle, and that included the scanner.

"_Fuck off, I'm not interested."_

"The Rift took Jack – "

"_Good riddance." _There was a tone of glee in Owen's voice. _"Best news I've heard in weeks."_

Ianto growled. Owen's attitude toward Jack was so twisted, there'd been times when the two had argued that Ianto had been concerned that there would actually be blows…or gunplay. But he wasn't about to let the medic's bad opinion of his lover get in his way. "I can't believe you'd think that, but be that as it may…Jack's not the only one. It took Tosh at the same time. Now, you might want to wish harm on Jack, but Toshiko hasn't done a damned thing to you; in fact, she's tried to be your friend. Now, are you going to condemn her, just because you think Jack's responsible for your own misery? Or are you going to get off your self-pitying arse and do your fucking job?" His voice had gotten higher and tighter with rage, and he didn't care how it sounded. He was sick and tired of Owen and his mood, and it was time the man got over it.

There was silence on the other end, and it lasted just long enough that Ianto was certain Owen had hung up on him. Just as he was about to disconnect and call Gwen, Owen answered. _"Fine. You're right. Tosh doesn't deserve to be abandoned. Where do you want me to go?"_

Ianto gave him the address, keeping the relief from his voice. He didn't want to owe Owen anything, and making him know how gratified he was would do just that. "Get as much information as you can," he said. "I'm going to need it, if I'm going to even attempt to work out where the Rift might have taken them."

"_Yeah, okay. I'm on my way."_

The audible click of disconnect sounded, and Ianto tossed his phone down so he could use both hands on the keyboard. Ianto got onto the internet, hoping to find out anything about the Ritz dance hall he could. He'd done a perfunctory search before Jack had left, but hadn't really managed anything in depth as yet.

It didn't take long; there really wasn't much to find, and what he did was in newspaper articles and various property records. The Ritz had been opened in 1932, and closed in 1989. Apparently it had been one of the buildings that had survived the Cardiff Blitz, and Ianto found all sorts of pictures of men in uniform, against the backdrop of the actual building, and the dragon couldn't help but think just how young they were, to be going off to war.

There were other pictures; of dancing couples, the hall decorated for some sort of occasion. Ianto remembered the war years; while he hadn't personally gone off to fight – it would have been far too difficult to explain the slight differences in his human form to one of the doctors – nearly all the young men in the village had gone, and more didn't return than did. If Ianto had to be honest, Ddraig Llyn had irrevocably changed during World War Two, growing a bit smaller, a bit more insular; pulling in on itself in an effort to protect what was left of its identity.

Ianto shook his head, not wanting to lose himself in memories. He kept flipping through the few articles and pictures, hoping for some sort of clue about what made the Ritz so special. He glanced toward the envelope he'd brought up from the Archives, and was just about to give up the internet search to go through its contents, when another picture caught his eye.

His heart lurched.

It was a picture of Jack, Toshiko standing next to him. He was shaking the hand of a handsome man, wearing a Group Captain's uniform.

Ianto glanced at the caption; it didn't identify the man in the photograph, but it was dated 21 January 1941.

The dragon would have yelled 'bingo' if it were in his nature to do so.

Quickly, he minimized the picture, going back to the equations that mainframe was currently running. He knew, of course, what Toshiko had been working on, in order to find a way to predict Rift activity. She'd also been certain that she could open the Rift safely, once she had enough information to pinpoint the specific coordinates she'd need to calculate where and when. Jack hadn't liked that idea; Ianto hadn't either, yet at the same time he could see the uses. Right now, the dragon thought if he had enough to plug into the equations, then he could get them both back.

The trick was, knowing exactly what they'd need to do so.

Ianto wasn't anywhere near the mathematical genius Toshiko was. Certainly, she'd shown him things, and the dragon had a fairly good grasp on what he considered the basics…but, in truth, was pretty advanced for most people. However, he was no scientist, and Ianto sighed, hoping he was up to the challenge.

Fingers dancing over the keys, Ianto input the date of the photograph into the equations. He also fed into them what he did know about the spike…which was very little. Owen would be sending him more information once he got out to the site, and the dragon prayed to the Great Ones that it would be enough to bring his lover and his friend home.

"_Oi, Dragon Boy,"_ Owen's voice crackled over the comm. _"I'm just going inside."_

Ianto touched his comm. on. "Be careful, I don't want you to get pulled into whatever it was that took Jack and Tosh."

"_You and me both."_ Ianto could hear the telltale sounds of Owen walking. _"You find out anything?"_

Ianto linked made certain that mainframe was getting the readings that Owen was sending. He explained about the picture he'd found, and how he was hoping that the program Toshiko had been working on would get them back.

"_I didn't know Tosh was working on a way to open the Rift."_

There was an odd tone in Owen's voice, and Ianto frowned, trying to identify it. "Yes, she has," he answered slowly. "She's been on it since the Rift became more active, just lately. You haven't been around to know." He knew he sounded slightly accusatory, but he didn't care.

Owen didn't seem to notice. _"Tosh is brilliant, if anyone can do it she can."_

Ianto was about to reply, when a soft 'ping' from the terminal stopped him. He glanced up…and his heart sank.

The equations weren't complete.

He sighed, closing his eyes. Despair threatened to wash over him. The program wasn't all there; Toshiko must have been working on it elsewhere, and not added that part to mainframe. Opening his eyes, he glanced around, hoping to find his friend's laptop. If the rest of the equations existed, that was where they would be.

It wasn't there.

Ianto closed his eyes again, trying to recall if Toshiko had brought it in with her that morning. He didn't think she had, but he had to be honest and say he hadn't been paying attention. Jack had been a very enjoyable distraction.

"_You got enough now?" _Owen's voice broke through his thoughts. _"I'm freezing my bollocks of in this drafty hole, and I'm getting a serious case of the creeps."_

Ianto checked the readings; from what he was seeing, they'd have enough. "Yes," he answered. "But I need you to make a stop on your way back to the Hub."

"_What am I, the fucking errand boy now?"_

Taking a deep breath to calm his ire, Ianto said, "I need you to stop by Tosh's flat, and see if her laptop is there. The equations she has here at the Hub aren't finished, and they have to be on that computer. And, if it's not there, I know damned well she would have made a back-up."

"_Yeah, that girl is anal. Okay, I'll stop off. I don't have a key though…"_

"She keeps a spare inside the weatherstripping under the front door."

"_Do I wanna know how you know that?"_

It was all Ianto could do not to react to Owen's challenging tone. "I helped her hollow out the cubby hole under the jamb," he barely managed not to snap. "She wanted to make sure I or Jack could get in at any time."

"_And what if she took the laptop with her?"_

"Then we may very well be screwed." Ianto punched off his comm. with a bit more force than was required, accidentally flicking himself in the cheek.

He didn't want to think that they wouldn't be able to get Jack and Toshiko back. He _couldn't_. He leaned against the desk, head in his hands. Intellectually, he knew Jack would be fine; he'd lived through the war before, and could conceivably do so again.

No, it was really Toshiko he was worried about.

Japan had been gradually cutting out a swath of China at that point in time; they were condemned for it, but they weren't officially at war with anyone else…yet. That would come later in the year, when the attack on Pearl Harbor took place. Still, Toshiko wouldn't have an easy time of it, before or after, and while Ianto knew Jack would take care of her, he couldn't help but be worried.

There was also the chance that Ianto would never see his friend again.

Jack could take the slow path back, and look the same as he always would. Toshiko, though…if she survived the persecution of those times, then she would grow old and die, waiting to be rescued.

Ianto leaned back in the chair, running his fingers through his hair. No, he couldn't allow that to happen…either scenario. He wanted his lover back soon after they'd been taken away, so he wouldn't have to live alone through those long decades. And he wanted to see Toshiko again, whole and young.

His eyes found the envelope again, and he felt a small surge of hope. If Torchwood in 1941 had investigated the Rift spike that had deposited Jack and Toshiko back into the past, then perhaps there was some clue as to how they got back in the first place…

His resolve restored, Ianto picked up the envelope. He tore it open, and was surprised to not only find a report, but also an old, threadbare diary. The dragon started with the report, hoping to get some sort of clue as to what had happened, and what was so important about the diary.

It was a basic, handwritten report, much like the hundreds that Ianto had gone through when he'd begun his Archive project. It was signed off by Dr. Matilda Brennan, the then-leader of Torchwood Three – and who, Jack had once said, had hated the immortal with a passion – and read like some sort of dry catalogue of events. She'd sent a team in to investigate a strange white light that had appeared during one of the dances for the soldiers, and when they'd arrived everyone claimed not to know anything. The report had an addendum by Greg Bishop, stating that they'd tried to investigate everyone present at the time of the Rift event, but as most of the witnesses had been posted overseas, it had been impossible.

At the foot of the page was yet another note, this one written by Llinos King and dated a year later, saying that one of the alleged witnesses had been killed in action, and that Torchwood had managed to take possession of their diary, and it had shed a little light on the happenings at the Ritz, even down to naming two people who had supposedly disappeared into the Rift: a man named Captain James Harper…and a Japanese woman he'd called Toshiko.

Ianto's heart beat faster. There was evidence that Toshiko had come back through the Rift…but James Harper? He frowned, wondering who that had been; but then his face cleared, as he realized that Jack must have used yet another false name in order to divert attention from himself. After all, he'd been somewhere in Cardiff in 1941, as well as in London. He would have wanted to avoid Torchwood scrutiny at all cost.

Hoping that the diary would give him some sort of clue as to what had happened back then, Ianto picked it up and, flipping to the nearest entry to 21 January 1941 – which was the day after – he began to read.


	65. Knight of Cups Chapter Four

Knight of Cups - Chapter Four

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, sorry...

Author's note: Hello, all! I hope you all had a great Valentines (for those who practice it) and welcome to another chapter. Thanks again, all of you, for reading. Hope you keep enjoying!

* * *

><p><em><strong>21 January 1941<strong>_

By the time Toshiko had managed to get over the surprise at finding out her boss's name wasn't, in fact, her boss's name, the odd-looking man had snapped their picture, and had managed to take a second one with him in it. She didn't pay much attention to him, only to notice that he was a bit creepy, as she thought about what she'd just learned.

She wondered if Ianto knew about this part of their Jack's life. Then, she realized that he must have done. If she was any judge, it didn't seem that Jack hid all that much from Ianto anymore, not since they'd become serious.

The obsequious little man vanished, leaving the three of them standing there, and Toshiko was feeling somewhat uncomfortable. Jack had turned back to the other Jack – she found herself calling him the Captain, in order to avoid the confusion going on in her normally logical and tidy mind – and had made 'excuse us' noises.

The Captain nodded, but said, "I didn't catch your names."

"Toshiko Sato," she found herself answering, her own innate politeness coming to the fore.

"I'm James Harper," Jack said, offering his hand. "With the 71st."

"The 71st?" Captain Harkness said, shaking hands. "That's where I'm hoping to be posted. Let me buy you both a drink…"

"In a bit," Jack said. "I really need to talk to my lady friend here for a second."

"Sure, whenever you're ready." Releasing Jack's hand, the captain headed back into the main part of the hall.

Jack took Toshiko by the elbow and guided her away from the crowds, down a darkened corridor toward what looked like office space. She was buzzing with questions, wanting to know exactly what was going on. Just who was her boss and friend? And who was the man claiming the name Jack Harkness?

He stopped down toward the end of the hallway, turning to face Toshiko. He looked embarrassed, and upset, and she wanted to hug him.

Instead, she crossed her arms and waited for the explanation she knew was coming.

Jack actually shuffled his feet, as if he was a child caught with his hand in the biscuit jar. He finally met her eye. "Jack Harkness isn't my real name," he admitted.

There were so many questions she could ask, but only one came out. "Does Ianto know?"

Jack actually gaped at her for a moment, then he shook his head, one corner of his mouth curling upward in an awkward smile. "Yes, he knows. He…even knows my real name."

Toshiko wanted to ask, but stopped herself. It really wasn't her business what name Jack had been born with. "So, why do you have that man's name?"

He took a deep breath, as if bracing himself. "When I was here, before I met the Doctor…I was a conman. I took his name to blend in; he was a hero, and was just what I was looking for. But damn…I didn't know he was so hot!"

Rolling her eyes, Toshiko slapped him on the arm. "Behave, Jack."

Jack pouted, rubbing his arm. "But that's no fun!"

Toshiko snorted. "All right…then how could you take his name, when he already existed in this era?"

Sadness passed over her friend's features. "I was only able to take his name because he was killed in action. It didn't take much to change the records, and to step into his shoes. He was perfect for what I needed."

He looked ashamed, and Toshiko couldn't help but hug him. "That's not you anymore," she murmured. "You're not the same person you were before."

His arms tightened around her. "Thanks," he whispered, kissing her temple.

A soft throat clearing pulled them apart. Toshiko couldn't help but shiver slightly as she saw the strange photographer, standing just down the hall, staring at them with those odd dark eyes of his. "What are you doing down here?" he asked politely. Yet, there was a tone in his voice that Toshiko didn't like.

"Just wanted a little…alone time," Jack said, taking a step forward and holding out his hand. "Captain…James Harper. And this is Toshiko Sato, friend and mathematician."

The man glanced down at the offered hand, looking as if he was about to refuse. Then he took it, shaking once then letting Jack go. "I'm Bilis, the manager. You're not in full uniform, Captain."

Jack's smile slipped for just a second. "I'm on leave."

Toshiko got a good look at the camera Bilis was holding; she frowned, recognizing it as technology that didn't seem to belong in the 1940's. Fallen through the Rift, perhaps? "That's an interesting camera," she said, hoping he'd give something away.

The odd little man looked at the camera proudly. "It takes pictures instantly."

"I didn't know they could do that yet," Jack questioned, a sharp tone in his voice.

"Where did you get it?" Toshiko asked.

"I think you should both rejoin the dance," Bilis replied, standing aside for them to pass.

Jack's hand on her back, Toshiko moved past the man and back toward the main dance hall. She glanced up at Jack; there was a look on his face, as if he was trying to figure something out. "It's not right here, Toshiko," he said, just loud enough for her to hear. "That camera…and I refuse to think it was coincidence that the man I happened to adopt the identity from is here, just where the Rift decided to dump us. No, there's something going on, and I think we need to figure out what it is."

Toshiko agreed. "You have a plan?"

He grinned. "Since when do I ever have a plan?"

"Jack…"

"Goddess, no sense of humor…okay, I think we need to talk to a few people, get the lay of the land. If there's some sort of influence going on around here, maybe we can find some evidence of it."

Together they headed into the actual dance hall, which was bright and cheerful despite a war going on beyond its walls. But to Toshiko, there seemed to be a darkness under the cheer, and that knowledge sent a chill down her spine. She wanted to go home; it no longer had anything to do with the fact that Japan would soon be involved in the war, or that if they didn't escape she's be facing such things as camps and discrimination, or worse. No, this was the sudden sense of wrongness she had at Jack's words that being there might not be due to some capricious fault in the Rift.

"Jack." Toshiko touched his arm, stopping him before they complete rejoin the party. From where they were standing, she could see the captain, laughing with his men. "You said the real Captain Harkness dies. What happened?"

He looked as if he didn't want to answer, but then she could see the change of mind in him. "Tomorrow is their last training day," he whispered. "They'll go out on a sortie and will be surprised by two formations of Messerschmitts." He swallowed. "He'll destroy three of the enemy. His men will hear him whooping over the radio. But then…it will all go quiet. He won't be able bail out because his whole plane will be on fire. But, his men will all make it home."

_Tomorrow._ Toshiko glanced back toward the man, a lump in her throat. She hadn't known him at all, and yet the very idea that he would be gone this time tomorrow…

"Come on," Jack urged. "Standing here will just bring more attention onto us."

As she followed him into the room, Toshiko thought back on her best friend, forward in 2008, trying to get them home. She had faith that Ianto would be able to use her equations to open the Rift again. He knew her well enough that, once he found that her program wasn't complete at the Hub that he'd go looking for her back-up. And he'd find it.

They just had to be patient.

Which was easier said than done.

"– and I say, 'Look love, it's raining bombs and fire, so get down that cellar," George was saying. "And she says, 'But I can't, there's rats down there!'."

The group Toshiko was in chuckled in response to the story. Once they'd gotten back into the main dance hall, she'd found herself at a table with some of the youngest of the pilots. George had once again apologized and had bought her a drink, and had behaved like a perfect gentleman. He'd introduced the others to her, although Toshiko hadn't really kept track, knowing that after tonight she'd never see any of them ever again. It really brought home to her that she'd actually travelled in time, and that everyone at this table had either already died, or were elderly.

She wondered how Jack had been able to do it. It also gave her a bit of perspective into John Ellis, although she still couldn't condone his behavior.

She glanced up toward the bar. Jack was there, chatting with the other Captain Harkness. They looked at ease, Jack leaning against the dark wood, one hand in his trouser pocket, his coat hitched back over his hip. He looked as if he really belonged in this time, and she wondered vaguely where his current self was, and what he was doing.

Toshiko hoped that Jack would be able to find something out from the man. She couldn't relax; the very idea that something was wrong kept her from enjoying the humorous stories that the men were telling. Her attention went back to her table-mates, and she tried to listen with half an ear, wishing she could take her PDA from her pocket and make a quick scan.

And then, when she looked up once more a while later, Jack and the captain were gone.

Her heart raced. Making an excuse for having to use the ladies', Toshiko made her way around the room, searching for her friend. Jack had made a point of staying within sight of each other, back when they'd separated; she couldn't see him leaving by choice, not with their current doubts that this was a normal Rift event.

She was just beginning to become really worried when she heard Jack's voice, almost so soft that she almost missed it.

"– no one," Jack was saying. His voice was coming from a secluded corner on the balcony she was currently searching. "There's no one."

Another voice said something, but it was too low for her to hear. Toshiko crept closer, feeling guilty for spying on her friend like this, but something about the situation was ringing her alarm bells, and she didn't know what it was.

"I might have to leave before the night is out," Jack answered whatever it was the captain had said.

Toshiko was finally able to bring both men into view, and she barely held in her gasp of surprise.

Jack and the captain were sitting on a small sofa, near enough that their legs where touching. Their heads were bent together, so close their hair almost mingled.

They were holding hands.

_No. _

Toshiko couldn't believe what she was seeing. The whole scene was so very intimate it made Toshiko's chest hurt. She felt betrayed, and yet Jack hadn't actually done anything; she was well aware of his affectionate nature, and how tactile he was. Anywhere else, and she wouldn't have thought twice about it.

But this was 1941. Men didn't do this sort of intimacy, out of fear of being arrested…or worse. It wouldn't matter if it was innocent; two men together like that could very easily be branded as homosexuals, and being such was still illegal.

Jack would know that.

Then why was he being so close to Captain Harkness like that?

_What about Ianto?_

No, this didn't mean anything. Jack had told her that this captain was going to die tomorrow; he was most likely giving some sort of comfort in a way that wouldn't tip the other man off.

Yes, that was it.

_Then why did it look like Jack was going to kiss Captain Harkness?_

But then, Jack pulled away. Still staring at Captain Harkness, he said, "Is there something I can do for you, Toshiko?"

The captain stiffened, yanking his hand away from Jack's as if he'd been scalded. His head turned, and he looked directly at her, his blue eyes glazed.

Then he seemed to snap out of it, and he jumped to his feet. Yanking down his uniform jacket, he gave her a nod. "Miss Sato," he greeted her stiffly. "James – the captain – and I were just discussing tactics." The blush on his features belied that logical answer.

She nodded, unable to speak. The man looked completely mortified, and she couldn't blame him. To have been caught out like that…it was a very compromising position, and anyone else might have reported it.

Captain Harkness scooted past her, leaving her and Jack alone. Her shock and confusion was suddenly overwhelmed with anger; for herself, for having seen what she had, and for Ianto, forward 67 years and trying to save them.

"What are you doing?" she hissed, stepping up to him.

Jack stood, lazily rolling the sleeves of his blue dress shirt up past his forearms. "It wasn't want you think," he began.

"Oh? Then it wasn't you making a pass at that man?"

He glanced down at his feet, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Okay, it _was_ what you think."

"How could you?" Toshiko wanted to rant loudly and furiously, but didn't dare, not in their current surroundings.

"It was surprisingly easy – "

"Jack!" She couldn't believe he was being so flippant. "You can't go and seduce another man!"

He actually looked puzzled. "Why not?"

Toshiko couldn't believe she was hearing this. This was from the person who once told her that he wanted to try to find a way to have a permanent mating with Ianto; that he wanted to spend eternity with the dragon. This was the person who swore to her that he'd never hurt Ianto again. This is the man who promised to be faithful.

"You can't!" she cried, the feeling of betrayal crushing her heart. "What about Ianto?"

Jack cocked his head, looking confused. "Why should I care what Ianto thinks?"


	66. Knight of Cups Chapter Five

The Knight of Cups - Chapter Five

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, sorry about that.

Author's note: Hi there! Welcome to the next chapter. Hope you guys don't lynch me over the next couple of stories, angst is ahead...

* * *

><p><em><strong>21 January 2008<strong>_

Ianto sat back in the chair, letting the diary fall closed to the workstation top, stunned by what he'd just read.

He didn't know if he was hurt, disappointed, or angry; perhaps all of the above? The emotions were churning through him like a whirlwind. Of course, there'd been things he'd accepted about his lover, but this…

He pressed his hands into his eyes until sparks crossed against the darkness behind them. Now, more than ever, did he need to get Jack and Toshiko back, to find out just what had happened back in 1941 to have made the soldier who'd written down events believe what he had. There had to be an explanation, because if there wasn't then Ianto would have to admit that he hadn't really known Jack Harkness at all, for him to have…

_No_. Ianto couldn't think that, couldn't go there right now. He had to work out how to get them home first. Then he could take the time to ask Jack what the hell he'd been _thinking_, when he'd done what he had.

He had to remind himself that this was the man who'd promised…who'd _sworn_…that he'd never hurt Ianto deliberately.

There had to be a reason.

And Ianto would get it once Jack and Toshiko were home once more.

The alarm on the cog door went off, and Ianto didn't even bother turning; he could hear Owen grumbling well enough. "I got Tosh's laptop," he reported, practically slamming the computer down on the desk. "Also found a stack of other shit you might want." A grocery sack followed the laptop. "There better be something in there that'll work, cause I don't want to be the one to explain why I had to ransack Tosh's flat more than once."

Ianto pulled open the bag, to find several zip drives, SM cards, and actual discs. There was enough to keep them busy for a while, if Toshiko hadn't left the rest of the equations on the laptop.

Setting the bag aside, Ianto opened the laptop, and booted it up. The main worry the dragon had now was the levels of security his friend had put on the equations he was looking for, and if he'd be able to crack it in time.

Luckily, he had the Torchwood mainframe. Their computer had the most sophisticated code breaking software available on the planet, and the dragon could use it to hack Toshiko's computer.

When she got back, he's apologize for invading her privacy…although Ianto knew that she was aware that he'd do anything to get them back. She'd understand.

After rooting around in Toshiko's desk, Ianto found a network cable that he could use to hook up the laptop to the mainframe. Judging from the laptop he would, indeed, need a password, and that was something Ianto didn't have.

"You gonna be able to crack Tosh's security?" Owen asked, sounding almost excited.

"I don't know," the dragon answered honestly. "But I'm going to give it my best shot. This could be the only chance we have of getting them back safely."

He began working, accessing Toshiko's hacking programs and setting them at the laptop. Ianto could only hope that his friend hadn't been too clever, and had made the security too tight on her personal computer.

Ianto found his gaze going back to the diary he'd found in the Archives. The innocuous looking journal disturbed him, and he found himself putting it back into its envelope. He had to keep in mind that he'd already found evidence that Jack and Toshiko were picked up by the Rift again; that they had, in fact, made it home in the end.

He just had to work it out in order to make it happen.

"How long has she been working on a way to open the Rift?" Owen interrupted once more.

Ianto barely stifled a sigh. "As I said: only a couple of weeks. The Rift's been a bit busy, and she's been taking the readings and feeding them into equations that she thought she could use to open the Rift relatively safely. From what I can tell, the maths are good…unfortunately I'm not a genius at them like Tosh is."

"So…if this works, then the Rift can be opened whenever we want."

"In theory, but I don't see it happening."

"But why not?" Owen protested. "Aren't we all tired of living in fear of the Rift? If we can control it, then we can do whatever we want!"

Ianto turned away from his work, to regard Owen. He looked…expectant, and the dragon wasn't sure why it would be so important for the medic to actually care if they could open the Rift or not. "Why are you so interested?"

Owen didn't do shifty all that well. "You said it: to get Jack and Tosh back."

"All right…I'll buy Tosh, since that's how I got you working in the first place. But you could care less about Jack; you've made that abundantly clear. Plus, you seem inordinately interested in using it besides saving our colleagues." He crossed his arms, waiting for the reply.

"You're too suspicious by half, Dragon Boy," Owen scoffed. "Like you said, it's not like we'll ever open it past this one time."

"You are a horrible liar, Owen Harper," Ianto snapped back. "You've been acting off for weeks, and it's not just you missing Diane. And now, you're showing more interest in opening the Rift than is exactly healthy. Now…are you going to be honest with me, or do I order you out of the Hub?"

He could see the war going on in Owen's eyes. If this was an issue with opening the Rift for any reason, then Owen would need to stay; if it was something else, then certainly he'd storm out in his usual huff?

Ianto could hear the soft whirring of the computers around him, as he waited for Owen's answer. When he got it, to say he was surprised was an understatement.

"I need to open the Rift," Owen admitted grudgingly, "to get Diane back."

Ianto's eyebrows shot up. "What do you mean? Diane doesn't have anything to do with the Rift."

Owen shook his head, looking wild. "When she left me, as she was taking off from the airport, the Rift re-opened and swallowed her."

Where had this delusion come from? "Owen, Diane wasn't taken by the Rift," he explained slowly. "She's in Alaska – "

"No, she fucking isn't!" Owen exclaimed angrily. "The Rift took her!"

"How do you know?" Ianto had to get to the bottom of this; if he couldn't, then there was no telling what the consequences would be. Was Owen actually capable of throwing himself into the Rift in order to chase this fantasy? At this point, the dragon didn't doubt it.

"I saw her," Owen answered. "The first time, I was at a pub, and she appeared next to me, telling me she was trapped in the Rift. She's come to me other times, and she said we needed to open the Rift to get her out."

What Owen was saying just wasn't possible; it was totally absurd. "If she had been a Rift victim," Ianto pointed out, "she wouldn't have been able to appear to you. She'd be gone completely."

"No, she explained that! Said there were weak places in the Rift, where she could interact with the outside world. She just wasn't strong enough to get out herself."

This was worse than anything Ianto had ever thought. How would Owen react to the truth? Would he even accept it? The dragon had to try.

"I know for a fact the Diane is safe," he said.

"You can't know that!"

"I can," Ianto went on. "On the day that Diane left, there were no Rift spikes. Nothing. I didn't sense one, and nothing showed up on any of the instruments. There was no spike, Owen; none at all."

The medic was shaking his head in denial.

Ianto continued. "Also, both Toshiko and Deborah have been getting emails from her. I know for a fact that Tosh tried to give you the email address. In fact, Diane has been wondering why you haven't contacted her. She's been really upset about it, and I think she did try to call you once but you never answered, and she left a voice mail." Now he knew why Owen had ignored it all…he'd somehow been convinced that Diane was gone.

But how? And why?

"No," Owen growled, "you're just trying to convince me to forgive Jack for her leaving."

Another piece of the puzzle slotted itself into place. This was why Owen had been so confrontational toward Jack; if Diane hadn't gotten that job offer, then the Rift would never have grabbed her away. "Of course I want you to forgive Jack, since he didn't have any control over whether Diane stayed or left. But Owen…there was no Rift spike. Diane is safe and living her life in Alaska. I can even bring up pictures she sent Tosh of her home in Fairbanks and her latest email if you want."

Owen looked as if he were trying to swallow a very large and bitter pill. Ianto turned back to the computer, getting into Toshiko's email very easily, and bringing up the email in question. He was also able to find the pictures; she'd shown them to him the day they'd been received.

This explained so much about Owen's behavior. He'd honestly been convinced that Diane was gone forever, and Ianto could see why he'd blame Jack, even though it had been Diane's decision to leave. And as for seeing her, and her telling him that the Rift had opened up on her…

Something was going on. Ianto just didn't know what it was.

He could feel Owen breathing over his shoulder as he looked at the pictures. There was even one of Diane herself, standing next to her plane, smiling happily. She was wearing current times' clothing, which would have put paid to him accusing Ianto of showing him an old photograph or doctoring one up for his benefit.

Whatever was going on, it all came down to the Rift.

Ianto suddenly had doubts about opening it, even to retrieve Jack and Toshiko. Someone – or something – had tried to convince Owen that opening it would bring Diane back, even though she was safe and sound in her new home. What would be the benefit of opening it? Did what had done this to Owen know about Toshiko's equations? Or did it want a blind opening? What was the point?

"I don't understand," Owen mumbled. "If Diane is really in Alaska, then what the fuck was I seeing?"

"I think something wants us to open the Rift," Ianto said aloud. "But we already do, if the report that Torchwood at the time could be believed."

"Then we should get on with it," Owen said, "and once Jack and Tosh are back, we figure out what's going on."

Now, that sounded like the old Owen. Ianto went back to the mainframe, minimizing the email screen, and was gratified to see that the security in Toshiko's laptop was now cooperating. Whatever had been on her personal computer was being slotted into the equations currently on the mainframe, and Ianto turned to get back to helping it along. From what he could see, everything seemed to be present; it was just up to completing the work and running simulations.

"Is it all there?"

"It is," the dragon said in relief. "I'll want to check to see if it works before we even try it…"

"Makes sense. Then we can get the others back and figure out what the hell is going on." Owen paused, then with a healthy dose of contrition he said, "I'm sorry about my behavior. God knows, you all must've thought I was a prick."

"It's fine," Ianto assured him. "It wasn't you. We don't know what it is, but we'll find out. Now, I'm not sure what the time difference is, but I bet Diane would love to hear from you." He pulled Diane's emails back up. "I think her number is on one of those. I'll get us a coffee while you talk to her."

Ianto got up, leaving Owen to sort through the emails for the contact number. Yes, he really needed a coffee; but, at the same time, his mind was trying to work out the puzzle that was being laid out in front of him. If someone was trying to influence Owen into opening the Rift, then it was entirely possible that Jack and Toshiko's disappearance was to do the same thing.

But, if the Rift taking his lover and his friend had been a trick in order to get them to open the Rift…well, then why didn't whoever manipulated the Rift like that just do what they'd obviously been trying to get Owen to do? And why target Owen, who really didn't know anything about the manipulator or the equations needed to do just that? It would have made more sense for Toshiko to have been influenced.

As his hands worked the machine, his thoughts went back to the envelope, and the diary. His chest hurt, and he rubbed it absently. He really couldn't deal with it; if it was true, then he had some decisions to make.

No, he couldn't. Not now. Now, he had to concentrate on getting their teammates back safe and sound.

By the time he'd finished with his and Owen's coffees, the medic was just saying goodbye to Diane. There was such a look of peace on his face, for the first time in about a month, and Ianto was glad for one thing: that losing Jack and Toshiko had been the catalyst for him discovering what had been going on with Owen in the first place.

Not that knowing was necessarily a good thing.

It had simply led to more questions than answers.


	67. Knight of Cups  Chapter Six

Knight of Cups - Chapter Six

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, sorry.

Author's Note: Hello, and welcome back! This is the penultimate chapter of Knight of Cups, which means one more chapter to go. Hold onto your hats, it's going to get a bit bumpy.

* * *

><p><em><strong>21 January 1941<strong>_

Toshiko felt her mouth fall open. A part of her wanted to slap Jack; another wanted to shriek at him; and yet another wanted to take the nearest gun and shoot him for such a cruel and casual remark.

Instead, she glared. "Yeah, right…Ianto's only your _mate_, Jack! Of course you should care what he thinks!"

If she hadn't been so intent on staring him down, Toshiko would have missed the tiny flicker of surprise in Jack's eyes. _Why would he be surprised by me calling Ianto his mate?_ The thought tickled across her mind.

"Tosh," he said carefully, "I don't know where you got that idea – "

"From you," she answered, narrowing her eyes.

"– but you're wrong. Ianto isn't my mate."

"So, you've completely forgotten what the Earth Dragon said?" This wasn't right. Something was terribly wrong. Jack should not be acting like this.

"Look," he answered, "it doesn't matter. I can't keep lying to myself anymore…I don't love Ianto. I honestly thought I did, but that was before…" He glanced back in the direction the captain had gone, a wistful expression on his face. "He's perfect, Toshiko. I knew he was a hero before…but I had no idea just how amazing he truly was. And to think, I stole his identity…I could never be even half the man he is. I don't deserve his name."

"Jack," she snapped, her heart plummeting. Things were falling apart so rapidly, and she wasn't sure how she could stop it. "You're the one who said something was wrong here – "

"Well, I was mistaken," he said. "There's nothing wrong here, only that we're in a place we weren't meant to be. Because now I have to save him, and tearing apart Time is something you don't do lightly – "

Toshiko gaped at him. "You can't! You'll create a paradox!"

"I don't care," he hissed. "I'm not going to have him die, when I can prevent it!"

"You're the one who's always lecturing us on the sanctity of the timelines. You know better than all of us that you cannot change a fixed point in time! Without him dying, you don't become who you are!"

She was feeling herself begin to panic. This wasn't Jack talking. It _couldn't_ be Jack talking! All of these events had happened before; they had led to the man who was her Jack Harkness becoming who he was now, and all of the good that he'd done.

"You'd change over one hundred years of personal history, undo all the good works you've done, just because of an…an infatuation?" she exclaimed.

"And you'd curse me to a lonely, immortal existence?" Jack returned, anger playing across his features. "Because if he doesn't die, I might not become cursed like I am!"

"But you don't know that! And you aren't alone! You have Ianto!" Toshiko was getting more and more frustrated. She didn't know what was going on, and her fear was beginning to spiral out of control.

"But I don't _want_ Ianto," Jack growled. "Quit trying to make it into something it isn't, Toshiko."

"I'm _not_," she insisted. "It was _you_ who said they wanted the mating. It was _you_ who swore you'd never hurt Ianto, no matter what. It was _you_ said you loved him. So tell me…how am _I_ making this into something it isn't?"

He didn't even have the common courtesy to look ashamed. "I was wrong."

"That's all you have to say? You were _wrong_?"

"I don't know what you want me to say!" Jack asked, frustration twisting his features. "I'm not going to lie to you!"

"You cannot change history, Jack. You know that, and it doesn't matter how you think you feel."

"How I _think_ I feel? I know bloody well how I feel, don't you dare lecture me on feelings, little girl. I've been alive a lot longer than you have!"

Toshiko was stunned by the insult. "I might not have years of experience like you," she slammed," but you're the one saying you don't even know what love is!"

"I don't have to put up with this." Jack brushed past her.

"Yes, run away," she snarled. "You're such a coward!"

Jack spun on her, and the sharp grin on his features was the last thing she'd expected to see. "Now you know the truth," he chuckled darkly. "It's good to see you're at least that observant."

He turned and walked away, leaving Toshiko feeling like she'd been kicked in the stomach.

Toshiko didn't know how long she stayed there, too stunned to move. When she finally was able to get her whirling thoughts to slow down, one thing kept coming back to her: Jack's comments about something not being right there, in that place. That them being taken up by the Rift to right then, to where the very man who would start Jack out on his journey to becoming their leader, wasn't a coincidence.

And now, Jack was acting out of character. Toshiko flatly refused to believe that these were Jack's real feelings, and that something – or someone – was somehow twisting him into this…whatever it was.

However, he'd once told her, back during the incident with the pendant, that it was nearly impossible to get into Jack's head. That he'd been trained against mental influence, and that his immortality also had something to do with not being able to get into his thoughts. Toshiko chewed her lip, hectically. If that wasn't the reason for Jack's odd behavior, then what was?

It was time she poked around a bit.

It meant leaving Jack on his own.

That scared her; he could easily make good on his threat to warn the captain about tomorrow. But Toshiko knew she had to take the chance, because if she had any hope of finding out what's going on then she had to investigate.

And she thought to start with the manager, and his advanced camera.

Finding the office was easy. It was down the same hallway that she and Jack had talked in before, and there was a small, discrete plaque on the door, announcing _Bilis Manger, Manager_ in equally discrete calligraphy. Toshiko knocked, to be on the safe side; there was no answer, and she carefully eased the door open, peering around the corner to make sure the man just hadn't answered.

The office was empty.

The decor seemed to fit the period, even though Toshiko was struck by the sheer number of clocks and chronometers scattered about the place. She made her way to the dark wood desk; the camera sat on the top and it was even more obvious that it was completely out of its own time. Pulling her PDA from her coat pocket, Toshiko ran a scan of the room, and finding several small sources of Rift energy that she managed to locate: the camera, two clocks, and a pen set that wouldn't have looked out of place on the desk of a top executive in the 21st century. They'd obviously come through the Rift.

One rather large reading came up with a disc-shaped object, which she found in one of the desk drawers. It resembled one of the Rift keys that she'd once studied before Jack had decided it was too dangerous and had curtailed her research. Toshiko frowned, wondering how it had gotten there, and she pocketed it, not trusting to leave it uncontained.

Under the device she found an unmarked file, and she pulled it out, flipping it open.

Her heart clenched, and she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

It was full of pictures…of the team.

There were photographs of Owen, with both Gwen and Diane; of Gwen, and a pleasant-faced man Toshiko recognized from the background check as Rhys Williams, and woman that just had to be her mother; of herself, alone, and with either Jack or Ianto, and even one with Rhiannon Davies, when she'd come to visit after they'd arranged for John Ellis to go to Ddraig Llyn, to explain about what being a Dragon-friend meant.

But there were even more pictures of Jack and Ianto, together and separate, and with other people as well.

She recognized Estelle Cole and Emma Cowell…now Deborah Morrison. There was one of Jack, with a dark-haired woman and a blond boy who she'd never met before, and who looked enough like Jack to have been some sort of family. Ianto and Kathy Swanson, sitting in a pub together; and one of Detective Swanson at what looked like a crime scene.

In the photos with Jack and Ianto, it was obvious to see their true feelings for each other, which really threw what Jack had just told her into another entire realm of wrongness. If Toshiko hadn't known that they were in love before, it would have been after seeing those. The looks, the touches…Ianto and Jack _were_ mates, in everything but name.

The very last photo in the file was of Ianto…in dragon form.

Toshiko really wanted to panic. This file was proof that someone had been stalking the Torchwood team for a while now, and had been sneaky enough to get away with actually getting evidence of the dragon. Plus, this file was in a desk, in 1941. That shouldn't be possible. At least one of these pictures was recent enough that Toshiko knew whoever had taken it could not have been in the past a week ago.

She quickly gathered the photos back together and also put them in her pocket. There was no way she was going to let them stay there. She felt dirty, almost violated, to know that someone had been watching her, and the entire team. Her stomach roiled, and it was all she could do not to be sick in the trash bin by the desk.

For the first time, she was truly sorry she hadn't shared what the Fire Dragon had said. Perhaps they could have found their stalker, and stopped them before things had gone too far.

The team had been changed. Toshiko couldn't lie to herself about that. Something or someone had changed her team…her family. Owen had become depressive, argumentative, and borderline suicidal. Gwen had actually Retconned her own boyfriend because she'd needed absolution. And now, Jack was apparently pining for a man who had been dead for decades, and was dismissing Ianto as not important to him any longer when Toshiko knew that simply wasn't true.

It was like three-fifths of the entire team had had some sort of personality transplant.

It suddenly struck her; what if she'd been influenced as well, and hadn't noticed? After all, she'd kept the Fire Dragon's warning to herself, when she should have gone straight to Jack and Ianto with the revelation that something was working within the team to tear it apart. Toshiko felt tears prickle her eyes, and she cursed herself for obviously falling into the same trap as the others had.

She couldn't sit there and wallow, though. Toshiko had to find a way to fix this, and the first thing needed doing was getting Jack back to 2008, and away from the real Captain Harkness. This was a disaster waiting to happen, and had the distinct smell of a set-up.

Toshiko took one more look around the office, making sure there wasn't anything else that she should be 'liberating' from its current owner. It became obvious that whoever this Bilis Manger was, that he was either a willing accomplice, or that he was behind everything. How he managed to go between times was a mystery, and one that she knew they'd need to solve. But Toshiko knew that the team had to come first, that fighting a hidden enemy as fractured as they were, they would most certainly lose.

Checking outside and seeing the coast was clear, Toshiko headed back down toward the main dance hall, feeling the overwhelming need to find Jack. She prayed that Ianto had found her equations, and had managed to get the program to work, to bring them home. There was no way either one could stay in this time. If she had to knock him out and drag him into whatever opening in the Rift the dragon managed to engineer, she'd do it.

Upon entering the room, she saw her Jack and Captain Harkness sitting at a table, drinks in front of each of them. They were far too intimate for anyone not to notice, and Toshiko shivered. This was too dangerous, they shouldn't be that close, not in this time and place. Jack should know better, and yet he didn't seem to care.

For someone who professed to love another, he didn't seem to be averse to putting that love in harms' way.

The music changed, and suddenly Jack stood. He looked down at the captain…then offered his hand.

Toshiko gasped, beginning to shake as she realized what was going to happen next.

Captain Harkness looked at Jack, and then at the offered hand. Toshiko didn't even know she was begging him silently to refuse, to move away from Jack before things went too far.

He accepted the hand.

The entire room went silent as the two men moved to the center of the dance floor. Only the music still played, but Toshiko thought there were more missed notes than there should have been. She wanted nothing more than to run over to them, grab her Jack and haul him out of there, but her feet were rooted to the floor as they began to dance.

Anywhere else, it might have looked romantic. But not there, not in 1941, where two men dancing that intimately with each other could be seen as a crime. What Jack had done by asking the captain to dance was ruin the man. Even if he wasn't arrested for lewd behavior, Captain Harkness' career and reputation would be destroyed.

Was this then? Was this Jack's way of keeping the man from flying tomorrow, and for dying a hero?

_This was wrong._

Toshiko didn't know how long she stood there, watching the two men dance. It was too late to do anything to save the situation. God only knew what was going to happen.

What did happen was a loud crack, and a white light shining from a large crack in midair.

She'd never been so glad to see the Rift in her life.

Toshiko practically ran forward, grabbing Jack by the arm. "We have to go!" she cried. "We need to get out!"

Jack looked from her, to the Rift, and then to the captain, who was stunned by the sudden appearance of a space/time event in the middle of the hall.

Toshiko knew she wouldn't have a chance to pull him into the Rift; he outweighed her for one, and he was stronger for another. And yet, in that one glance at Captain Harkness, he seemed to come to a decision. "I have to go," he murmured sadly. "It's my duty."

Jack allowed Toshiko to tug him away, but in an instant he was out of her grasp and back in front of the captain…

Kissing him with a passion that had to have been evident to everyone in the room.

_No…_

Jack had just condemned the man.

Did he even care?

They broke apart, and Toshiko once again grabbed Jack, this time by the shirt sleeve, and practically yanked him into the Rift.


	68. Knight of Cups Chapter Seven

Knight of Cups - Chapter Seven

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, not mine.

Author's Note: Well, here's the last chapter of Knight of Cups. The next story, The Time Walker's Gambit, starts up immediately after this one, so stay tuned. Thanks to everyone reading, reviewing, and alerting.

* * *

><p><em><strong>21 January 2008<strong>_

By the time Ianto had finished making the coffee, Owen was chatting quite animatedly on his mobile. The dragon couldn't help but be happy for him; yes, he'd been certain that Owen had set out to seduce Diane, but his reaction to her leaving – even if he was being influenced – had been heartfelt, if just far too extreme. Long distance relationships didn't often work, but he held out hope that, someday, Owen and Diane could at least be good friends.

He set Owen's coffee down on the desk he was sitting at as he chatted, then headed back to the equations running on Toshiko's computer. Yes, everything was checking out, and he wanted to run one simulation before attempting to use them to get Jack and Toshiko back.

The dragon was torn. On one hand, he wanted to open the Rift just that much to bring them home. On the other, if someone wanted them to open the Rift in the first place…well, it was just a risk they would have to take. Plus, they'd apparently already taken it, if the original report was to be believed.

If the diary and the report were to be believed.

He set up the simulation, banishing those thoughts. He'd talk to Jack when he got back.

"How's it going?"

Ianto glanced up at Owen. He looked at peace for the first time in weeks, and he was glad that everything had come out. They really needed to address what had happened, but they could do that once the entire team was there.

"I'm running a test on the program," he answered. "But so far it's good."

Owen nodded. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it…then opened it once more. "Look," he said, sounding almost contrite, "I wanna apologize for all the shit I've given you over the last several weeks – "

"No need to apologize," Ianto said. "I think we know now that you were influenced in some way."

"Yeah, but I should have said something before now."

"I'll agree with that," the dragon answered. "You really should have trusted your team."

"Yeah, I should have."

"It's over now, and we can move on. Something wanted this team in tatters, and they achieved that."

"I think we need to find them and kick their fucking arses," Owen said fiercely.

Ianto grinned. "I'm with you – "

The terminal made a little chime, signifying that the simulation was done. Ianto checked it carefully; maybe he was being overly cautious, but with everything that was going on he wasn't about to take any risks. "Looks good," he said. "I think it's time to bring our teammates home."

"Then do it!"

The dragon needed no other encouragement. He began the program, watching as the equations worked their way through the Rift Manipulator, hoping against hope that everything would work out. Neither Ianto nor Jack had ever attempted this; not with the little bit of sabotage Torchwood One had done when they'd been forcibly ejected from the Hub after he and Jack had taken over. But he knew Toshiko would have taken that into consideration, even if she hadn't really known about the missing key, because she was simply that good. He vividly remembered her work on the sonic modulator that had landed her in UNIT custody. She had a natural talent, and Ianto had no doubt that the equations would work.

He could feel it; the build-up of Rift energy signaling an incoming spike. This time, though, it felt slightly different, less intense than a natural spike. The program that Toshiko had written was working, it was controlling the spike.

In what seemed like seconds, but was more like minutes, the controlled Rift spike faded, and Ianto sat in his chair, holding his breath for some sign that it had worked. Had it stayed open long enough? Had Jack and Toshiko been nearby when the Rift had opened? And, just when seemed his nerves were going to fray beyond redemption, he got his sign.

"_Ianto!"_ Toshiko's welcome voice came over the comm. _"We're back. We're okay."_

A huge grin broke over the dragon's face. "Tosh!" he exclaimed. "Welcome home!"

Owen punched the air at the same time, and did a strange little hip wiggling motion that Ianto tried hard not to laugh at. He was relieved that it had worked, that the two people he cared for most in the world were safe. It could have been a disaster, even though the records had indicated that the Rift had opened, and that two people had gone into it. There had still been that bit of uncertainty, and Ianto was so glad everything had turned out all right.

"_We're on our way back to the Hub," _Toshiko went on. _"We should be back shortly."_

Ianto let out a huge sigh of relief. "I'll get the coffee on then," he offered.

"_I could use some. See you soon."_

He thumbed off his comm., turning to Owen. "Thanks for your help," he said sincerely.

"No need to thank me, dragon-boy," the medic shrugged. "Just doing my job…which it's about time I started doing again."

"Welcome back to you, too."

"It's good to be back. Oh, and Diane says 'hello'."

"Let's get this mess cleaned up," Ianto said, "then I can start the coffee."

* * *

><p>The coffee was just finishing when the cog door alarm sounded.<p>

Ianto glanced toward the door, in time to see Toshiko hug Owen, and to see Jack striding toward his office. The dragon frowned; his lover kept his eyes forward, not looking at anyone, and he shut the office door behind him. He also appeared to be missing his coat.

He looked down at the innocuous-seeming diary that rested on the counter. He'd pass the coffee out first, then he'd check on Jack. He felt suddenly very nervous, as if this was their first meeting instead of having seen each other almost every day for over seven years. Ianto decided he didn't want his coffee, and poured it down the sink.

Tucking the diary under his arm, Ianto headed out of the kitchen area, mugs for Owen and Toshiko in his hands. He managed to pass Owen's off to him before Toshiko was wrapping him into a hug, her arms tightening around him almost painfully. He could feel the crackling and popping of the Rift energy she'd been saturated in, and it tingled against his skin as if his entire body had fallen asleep.

Ianto embraced her as best he could with one hand full and something under his arm, and he eventually had to ease back when it seemed as if she didn't want to let go. He looked at her closely; the expression on her face was one of pitiful gladness, her eyes wide and her lips twitched upward in a watery smile. "Ianto," she began, "something happened when we were back in time – "

"I know," he soothed her, setting her coffee down on her workstation.

Her brows drew together in a frown. "How could you know?"

The dragon held the diary up. "This was written by one of the captain's men," he answered quietly, trying to hide the pain he was feeling from her. He wasn't sure he succeeded. "Torchwood investigated the sighting back in 1941, and they got their hands on this. It was how we knew your program would work, because it had already happened. But…" he cleared his throat. "Well, I'll tell you later. Right now, I need to talk to Jack."

"I don't think that's a good idea," she said. "When we were there, Jack…changed."

Ianto's heart clenched painfully in his chest. He simply nodded though, knowing his friend would have guessed how he was feeling. "Have Owen tell you what happened to him, and I think you'll find this team has been under some sort of influence for some time. I'm…not surprised it hit Jack, too. I'm going to see if I can snap him out of it."

With those words, Ianto headed up to Jack's office, making a quick stop for the mug of coffee he'd made his lover. Butterflies the size of Myfanwy fluttered in his stomach, and his heart began beating even harder than before.

Jack had to be under whatever influence Owen had been. That was the only explanation for what had happened.

Ianto couldn't accept otherwise.

He knocked on the door, then let himself in as he usually did. Jack was seated at his desk, working at his computer, a look of concentration on his face. He didn't even acknowledge Ianto's presence; he simply kept working, his fingers tapping across his keyboard in an almost frantic fashion. Rift energy sparkled around him, itching Ianto's senses.

Ianto cleared his throat. That seemed to get Jack's attention, and he looked up, frowning. "I do hope there's a reason for this interruption?" he practically growled.

The dragon wasn't used to that sort of reaction to his presence, but he let it slide. He took into consideration that something had been at work within the team, and that what he'd read in the diary had something to do with it. He needed to get all this out in the open, like he had with Owen. Then, perhaps, they could work on figuring out who – or what – had been behind it all.

He set the coffee down on Jack's desk, and his lover looked at it in disdain. "I'm not really in the mood for coffee," Jack said, turning back to his work.

If Ianto had needed any proof that Jack wasn't acting normally, that would have been it. "If you're not interested in coffee," Ianto replied, "then perhaps you can tell me what happened while you and Tosh were in 1941?"

Jack simply shrugged. "Nothing much," he answered dismissively.

"So you meeting the real Captain Harkness wasn't much?" Ianto pressed.

Jack sighed, pushing back from his computer. "What do you want from me, Ianto? To admit that I met the man, and that I kissed him? I can certainly do that, if it makes you feel better."

Ianto felt ill, but continued on. "Jack, you kiss others like most people shake hands. No, that's not what I meant at all."

"Then perhaps you meant for me to admit that I fell in love with him?" Jack asked snidely.

The dragon felt like he'd been punched in the chest, but at the same time he grew incredibly angry. "Oh, is that what you call it?" he demanded. "Do you know what I call it?"

Jack made a dismissive gesture, his eyes narrowed.

"I call it betraying a good man by 'outing' him in front of a roomful of people, during a time when homosexuality was illegal!" He held out up the diary. "This was written by one of the captain's men, and it came into Torchwood hands after the man died. It details yours and Toshiko's visit to the past, and how the two of you vanished into a flash of light. However, it also tells what really happened to Captain Harkness after you kissed him."

Jack rolled his eyes. "I know what happened to him; he was killed in action. He died a hero."

Ianto couldn't believe how cavalier Jack was being about an innocent life. This wasn't like him at all, and he had to wonder just how far the influence went. "No, Jack. That's what the official records say, the ones you changed when you took his identity; how his men wanted him to be remembered." He couldn't believe how angry he was. It didn't seem that anything he was saying was getting through to Jack at all.

He leaned forward, slamming the diary down onto the blotter. "After your rather touching goodbye to the captain, there were several spectators who wanted to report the captain right away. It was his men who managed to talk them out of it, mainly because they noticed that he was acting out of character. They knew him you see…they knew he had a girlfriend, and that he would never act like a lovesick fool over another man. So they got him out of there, and took him back to the officers' quarters."

Ianto stared Jack right in the eye, not liking what he was seeing in those blue depths. He continued on with what he'd read in the diary, needing to finish this confrontation and try to bring Jack to his senses. "However, the next day, Captain Harkness seemed distracted and unsure of himself. He apologized to his men for what had happened, swearing that he didn't know what had come over him. His men believed him, and were perfectly willing to blame you for it…which, of course, they had every right to do, since it was your kiss that caused all the ruckus in the first place." Ianto didn't even bother keeping the anger and condemnation from his voice.

"They went on the mission as scheduled. But over the channel their captain's plane suddenly took a nose dive right into the ocean. He didn't even try to bail out. His men knew at once what had happened, and when they got back to the base they made up the story about the German planes in order to make certain their captain went down as a hero…and not a suicide."

Ianto leaned forward even farther, planting both hands on the desktop. "This was the man you professed to love, Jack…to escape the shame, he killed himself. You might as well have murdered him yourself, with your selfish actions." He was angry, but his chest ached as he realized this was it; this was the third time that this man would break his heart, unless he could somehow break him out of whatever control he was under.

But his words didn't seem to be getting through to Jack at all. He looked blatantly unrepentant. "I only kissed him," he answered. "It was his decision to kill himself. And yes, I did love him, and it showed me that what I feel for you isn't love at all, but simply an infatuation. You need to deal with it and move on."

Ianto wondered if this was how a heart attack felt. He could barely breathe. "If this is how you show you love someone," he managed to whisper, "then I'd hate to see how you treat the people you dislike."

It wasn't working. Jack wasn't seeing that he'd been acting wrongly, that what he'd done, while it hadn't been evil, it had been stupid and negligent and it had gotten an innocent man killed.

No, Jack was simply sitting there, looking relaxed, as if he didn't have a care in the world. He wasn't even mourning the man whose death he'd been in part responsible for. No remorse; no denial.

Ianto couldn't take it anymore.

He turned and left the office, walking past Toshiko and Owen, and heading out of the cog door. He had to get out of there; he to get away from a Jack Harkness who wasn't acting like the Jack he knew and loved.

He had to get out.


	69. The Time Walker's Gambit Chapter One

The Time Walker's Gambit - Chapter One

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, sorry.

Author's Note: Here we go! The beginning of the final story of the first series, The Time Walker's Gambit, which is the Dragon-Verse version of "End of Days". Thanks to everyone who have read and reviewed and such for this entire series! After this I have planned a couple of stories having to deal with The Year That Never Was, and then into Series Two. I hope you enjoy this!

* * *

><p><em><strong>21 January 2008 <strong>_

Toshiko slid her key into the lock, letting herself and Owen into Ianto's house. It was dark within, and if she didn't know better she would have sworn no one was home.

But she did know differently.

She ushered Owen inside, closing and locking the door behind them. The house might have looked deserted from the outside, but once inside they could both hear the faint sound of singing coming from the darkened loft.

She glanced at Owen, sadness causing a lump to grow in her throat. She recognized the song; it was the Song of Mourning, and Toshiko knew who he was singing it for.

It was for the dragon himself.

Toshiko hadn't heard what Ianto and Jack had talked about earlier in the day, but she knew how that conversation had ended: with Ianto leaving the Hub, and Jack actually looking smug about making the dragon retreat from the battle, the anguish on Ianto's face making her own eyes prickle with unshed tears. She'd wanted to follow her friend then and there, but Owen had stopped her, saying that they didn't want to tip Jack off to their leaving, and that it would bring too much attention to Ianto's departure. Plus, for some reason she really didn't want to leave Jack alone in the Hub, at least not before she secured several sensitive programs and routines. She simply didn't trust this new version of Jack; there was no telling what he might do.

Owen had told her everything about his tine since Diane had left, and once again Toshiko had wished she'd spoken up about the Fire Dragon's visit to her. Maybe they'd been able to figure out what was wrong with Owen before, if she hadn't been silent? Could they have stopped things from going so far out of control?

It was too late to ask those questions.

Toshiko had entertained going in and confronting Jack, but knew it wouldn't do any good. No, it would most likely make things worse, and until they figured out what was going on, that would be a mistake.

She would have to keep her righteous indignation under control for the time being.

Together they headed toward the stairs. "Ianto?" she called softly, not wanting to startle the dragon.

The singing stopped. "Tosh? Come up, please."

She headed upstairs, Owen at her heels. "Owen's here, too," she said.

"Yeah," the medic spoke up. "Wanted to check to see how you're doing."

The only light coming into the loft was from the skylight. It illuminated the coiled form of the dragon, lying on his bed of cushions, snout resting on his crossed front legs. His slitted blue eyes glittered in the light of the full moon. They were incredibly sad, but he gave them a dragon smile full of sharp teeth as they approached. "I'm fine," he rumbled, "as you can see."

"Bollocks, Dragon Boy," Owen snapped. "We don't know what went on in that office, but I know what Tosh told me about their little impromptu trip to the past, and I can guess you're anything but fine."

The dragon sighed, lifting his head. "You're right, of course," he admitted. "I'm having difficulty reconciling what I know of Jack, and what happened with the real Captain Harkness…and before you say anything, it's not because Jack kissed the man. Jack kisses people all the time. Nor am I jealous. I'm…disappointed, and angry, and I just can't believe Jack would put a man's life in danger like that."

Toshiko frowned. "What was in that diary, Ianto? What happened to Captain Harkness after we left?"

She sat down beside him, giving what comfort she could with her presence. Owen collected a chair from the other side of the room and joined them, listening as the dragon told them what had been written in the diary that Torchwood had collected.

After he was done, Toshiko couldn't help the tears. Captain Jack had been a good man, even though she hadn't known him all that long, and he hadn't deserved what happened to him. Owen was cursing a blue streak, calling Jack every name in the book.

"Harkness might be a bastard at times," Owen said, "but not even he would do something like that to someone. He knew what the penalties were back then."

"And yet," the dragon sighed, "he did. And a good man committed suicide because of it."

"From what I saw," Toshiko said, "Jack just seemed to change. He went from being suspicious of the circumstances of our arriving there; to accepting it and threatening to change time for the captain. It was…bizarre."

"Sounds like he was being influenced to me," Owen suggested.

Toshiko nodded. "That's what I thought, too." She decided that she needed to tell them about the warning. It might be too late to do anything about it, but it might shed more light onto what was going on.

And so, she admitted her seeing the Fire Dragon, and the warning she had given Toshiko. Her face flushed in shame as she recounted that meeting, and how she'd decided to keep things to herself instead of saying anything. Thinking about it now, she couldn't believe that she'd stayed silent, and not told at least Ianto what had happened, instead of simply telling Rhiannon and standing back to see what happened.

What might have been different if she's just said something?

"Bloody hell, Tosh," Owen exclaimed. "You know I don't go into that sort of mumbo-jumbo, but then our boss is an honest-to-shit dragon, so I can't call you delusional."

She rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks Owen."

"The four Great Dragons are real," Ianto murmured. "Tosh also saw the Earth Dragon, and was Named his Friend. She has the mark to prove it." He turned his eyes to her. "I don't blame you for not saying anything. I can't, because at this moment I don't think we can differentiate between what's been our actual decisions, and what we've done under the influence of…something."

It didn't actually make her feel any better, but she had to agree. Toshiko didn't honestly know if her not saying anything was something she'd decided, or had been decided for her. "I have to think that Jack's being manipulated, as well. We all know he can be cold-blooded, but to actually condemn a good man like he did…I can't see it. There's also something else…well, a couple of things that I brought back from the past with me." She dug into her bag, and brought out the pictures and the strange key-like device she'd found in Bilis' office in 1941. "We'll need light…"

Owen got up and turned on the light near the large bed that took up a third of the loft, then rejoined them. He cursed as Toshiko showed them the photographs, Ianto's large head hovering over them the better to see them as well.

"And you found these in the past?" the dragon asked.

"Yeah," she answered. "It's pretty obvious that whoever's behind this can travel in time."

When they got to the last photo, it was time for Ianto to curse. "How did they get that without me seeing them?" he growled. "It looks like it's my own back garden!"

"Maybe your perceptions were messed with," Owen said. "Just like mine was, when I thought I kept seeing Diane all over town?"

"We're dealing with something very powerful," the dragon commented.

"It would have to be," Toshiko said. "You remember what Jack said, back when Mary had given me that pendant, and I couldn't read him?" At least she could mention that time now without blushing too badly.

The large head nodded. "I do."

"Care to fill me in?" Owen groused.

"Jack said he'd had pretty strong mental barriers," Toshiko clarified, "and he thought whatever it was making him come back from the dead also made him impossible to read telepathically."

"He was pretty confident," Ianto added.

"Yeah, well it wouldn't be the first time Harkness has been overconfident about something," Owen pointed out. "Sounds like to me that something got past those supposedly great shields of his."

Owen did have a point, as much as Toshiko didn't want to admit it.

"That has to be the explanation," the dragon said. "If not…then we have to face the fact that we didn't know Jack at all."

Owen snorted. "No, this isn't Harkness' usual self. Look, I might give you two grief, but even I can see he's nuts about you, Ianto. There's no chance in hell of him suddenly falling for another bloke, no matter how nice a guy he is, let alone do something to get the man killed. Like I said, he can be a bastard…but this isn't him."

"There was also this," Toshiko held out the device she'd found. "It looks almost like a Rift key – "

"It's not," the dragon rumbled angrily. "That's the key to the Rift Manipulator."

Toshiko was puzzled. She hadn't been aware that the Manipulator even _needed_ a key, and she said so.

"When Jack and I took over Torchwood Three, we had to kick Yvonne Hartman's minions out first. But, they decided to do as much damage as possible without being obvious about it, and so they removed that," a claw pointed toward the key Toshiko held, "from the Manipulator. Yvonne felt that, if she couldn't have control over the Rift, then we couldn't either. Jack only noticed it about a month later, when we were going over the blueprints to do some preventative maintenance. By then, it was too late to do anything about it."

"But how did this Bilis Manger have it in his desk?" Toshiko asked. "It would mean he had an 'in' into Torchwood One!"

"Not necessarily," Owen said. "He could have scavenged the ruins after the battle, same as we did. And if this Manger guy is the one traveling in time, then he would have known to be there on that day."

"That's possible," Ianto said. "Jack had me search for it, but it had vanished from the London Archive. We'd just assumed it had gotten sucked into the Void with a lot of things that had been in the Tower. And I admit…I was a bit well, distracted, after I found Lisa."

Toshiko could understand that.

"All right," Ianto said, sitting up a bit. "It's safe to say that something – and I'm leaning toward this Bilis Manger person – has been manipulating this team for some reason we don't know yet. We've been spied on, and put into situations that would make us react in certain ways. The three of us in this room have most likely been victims, and we can safely say that Jack is the latest of us. Gwen, we don't know – "

"What about her Retconning her boyfriend?" Toshiko defended. "Certainly she wouldn't have done that to him if she'd been in her right mind!"

"We can't be sure," the dragon repeated. "She's new; we have no idea what she would do under the circumstances. Although, I will say this: when I'd pointed out to Owen that Diane was alive, he did eventually accept it. With Gwen…Jack and I both told her she was wrong, and I know you've been talking to her Tosh, and she has yet to admit she made a mistake. She hasn't accepted that she was wrong to do what she did."

"Neither has Jack," Toshiko pointed out.

"I'm with Dragon Boy," Owen said. "Gwen didn't have to start an affair with me, and she certainly didn't have to come clean. Besides, if Jack and Ianto hadn't caught her, we might never have known about it. It wouldn't have done whoever it was any good if it wasn't something that would have affected the team."

He was right, of course. Toshiko knew it, but at the same time she'd been hoping that Gwen hadn't been in her right mind when she'd used the Retcon. It was an action that didn't make sense to her; after all, you confess in order to gain forgiveness. You don't confess only to Retcon the reason out of the party you're asking the forgiveness from.

"All right," Ianto interrupted her thoughts. "There are some things we need to do. First, I want to make sure that while Jack is under this influence that he can't do anything damaging to the Rift or to the Hub – "

"I've already done some systems lockdowns," Toshiko answered. "I've taken my Rift program off the mainframe and locked it under multiple protections on my laptop, just in case. I've also reprogrammed the Manipulator to only accept retinal patterns and voice recognition, and it has to be all of us, not just one will work. Oh, and even though I can't access the Secure Archives, I've been able to add an extra wall of security…and I'll get you the new pass codes, Ianto."

The dragon looked impressed. "Well done, Tosh."

She preened. "Thank you."

"I also think we need to see if we can't track down this Bilis Manger…" Ianto paused. "Wait a moment…Detective Swanson said the caretaker for the Ritz was named Manger…"

"I can do a quick search and see what I can come up with online on our mysterious Manger," Toshiko said, finally feeling like they were accomplishing something.

"Should we call in Gwen to help?" Owen asked.

Ianto considered. "No," he finally answered. "I want to keep her in reserve. As of this moment, she's about the only one who could possibly be free of any sort of control, and I'd like to keep it that way. Besides, she could very well still be under surveillance by Manger or whoever took those pictures. If we look as if things are fairly normal, then perhaps we can catch them by surprise."

"Do you still have the cameras and such up at her flat?" Toshiko asked.

"We do; after we suspended her we decided to keep them up."

"I could hack into those, see if she's been approached. I can also check the CCTV."

"Sounds good. If we need to pull her in then we should know if she's going to be bringing any unexpected guests with her."

"That's all well and good," Owen said, "but we're still gonna need some sort of back-up in case things go pear-shaped. And I also don't think any of us should be alone."

"You have a good point," Ianto said. "And I have just the person…


	70. The Time Walker's Gambit Chapter Two

The Time Walker's Gambit - Chapter Two

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine, sorry!

Author's Note: Here we go, another chapter! I still can't thank everyone enough for your support for this story. I appreciate you all!

* * *

><p><em><strong>22 January 2008<strong>_

"A double chocolate muffin and double espresso for the lovely detective this morning."

Kathy Swanson rolled her eyes, accepting Ianto's offering of breakfast. "Cut the flirting, Jones," she said lightly. "You really _have_ been hanging around Himself too long."

Ianto barely hid his wince by sliding into the booth opposite the detective. He really didn't want to be reminded of Jack at the moment.

"So," Kathy went on, "you gonna share why you called me at God-awful-thirty this morning, and why I had to blow off the DCI in order to get off to meet you?" She took a bite of her muffin, making a pleased, humming sound.

The dragon didn't bother to hide his discomfiture this time. "If you need me to call and clear this – "

"Nah," she said. "I just said it was you asking, and he was fine with it." She looked at him shrewdly. "I'm guessing it's pretty urgent if you're coming to me for help?"

"You could say that." Ianto pulled a small device about the size of a lipstick from his pocket, thumbing it on and setting it on the table between them. When he'd asked her to meet him at their usual coffee shop, Ianto had realized that, if he was indeed under surveillance, asking Swanson to talk to him anywhere else might cause suspicion.

One expressive eyebrow went up. "Afraid we're going to be overheard, then?"

Her question startled him. "You know about this sort of tech?"

She shrugged. "I watch spy movies. You think you're being watched?"

"It's a very distinct possibility." This was one of the reasons he liked Kathy Swanson; she was sharp, and she picked up on things that other people might not. But then, this was what made her an excellent investigator.

"Don't you think, if you are, that they might get suspicious if we're suddenly under some sort of 'cone of silence'?"

It was a valid question, but this was alien tech. "Not with that," he answered. "It takes our conversation and makes it sound like we're talking about the weather, or somesuch."

"That's handy." She was impressed.

"It doesn't last long, but it will be long enough." Ianto took a drink of his own coffee. Kathy Swanson was one of the very few people he trusted outside both Torchwood and Ddraig Llyn; it was just approaching the subject in the right way that made him hesitate.

Swanson waited calmly, eating her muffin and making the odd pleasurable sound. If Jack had been in his right mind and present, he would have been making lewd comments.

No, he couldn't think of Jack…

"Who got the initial call-out on the Ritz Dance Hall?" he asked.

The detective cocked her head, looking at him closely. "It was Davidson and Smythe. They took the witness statements and poked around…until they heard the music themselves, then thought it was something Torchwood should handle. DCI Henderson asked me to call you in."

"Did you talk to the manager, Manger, personally?"

"No, I just relayed orders to Davidson onsite. So, I take it was something along your line?"

"It was." Ianto folded his hands on the table, linking his fingers around the Styrofoam cup. "And I needed to make certain you hadn't come into contact with Manger."

"Davidson did say the man creeped him out."

"PC Davidson has good intuition."

"Don't tell him that, it might go to his head."

Ianto felt a corner of his mouth twitching upward at that. "We think Manger is involved in a plot against Torchwood."

"So the callout was a hoax?"

"Not at all," he assured her. "Are you ready for another Torchwood history lesson?"

Swanson snorted. "I think you might find that I know more than you believe I do."

Ianto looked at her closely. "Have you been doing your research?"

"You could say I have a source."

The dragon frowned. Was someone talking out of turn? No; he trusted his teammates…well, as much as he could under the current circumstances.

The detective smirked. Swanson removed her black suit jacket, revealing the pale gold blouse underneath. As Ianto watched, she began to roll up her left sleeve…

His eyes flew wide, not believing what he was seeing.

Tattooed on her left wrist, just above the black leather of her watch band, was a small dragon, wreathed in flame, the red and orange of the design standing out against her dusky skin.

"You – " was all he could get out, so stunned was he that words simply wouldn't come. As Swanson rolled her sleeve back up, looking decidedly smug, Ianto tried to get his shocked mind working once more.

Kathy Swanson was a Dragon-Friend, and she'd been Marked by the Fire Dragon herself.

"When – " Ianto still struggled to speak.

"Only about a week," she answered, buttoning up her sleeve once more. "In fact, it was the night the Fire Dragon warned your Toshiko that something was going on. Gotta say, that was an interesting night…finding out a friend you've known for years is actually an honest-to-God dragon."

"I…" No, he had to get himself back together. Ianto had known there would be two more Dragon-Friends out there; it was just that one was Kathy Swanson was throwing him for a loop. "I've been wanting to tell you for years," he exclaimed. "But I didn't want you to have to lie to your superiors if ever asked if you knew secrets about Torchwood."

She waved him off. "It's fine, I figured it was something like that. But now you know you don't have to worry about that anymore."

Ianto slumped down in the plastic seat, relief doing strange things to his insides. He'd always known he could trust her, and now they shared a bond that went beyond friendship.

He really wanted to hug her, but decided to keep it professional in public.

Then Ianto grinned, thinking how jealous Jack was going to be with Kathy as a Dragon-Friend…but the smile faded quickly.

"I'm sure there was something behind that expression," she said shrewdly.

"There is, and I'll explain in a bit. All right, just how much did the Fire Dragon tell you?"

Kathy shrugged her jacket back on. "She gave me a rather condensed dragon history – which I'm looking forward to having you fill out in more detail – and about the Rift through Cardiff. I have to say, I kinda believed the Rift stuff before the dragon stuff."

Ianto had to laugh. "Even with a dragon made out of fire sitting in front of you?"

"Hey," she retorted, "I've lived in Cardiff and I've heard all the weird shit that happens around here, so I had a head start in the belief department where that was concerned! It certainly explains a lot, too."

She had a point, he reflected.

"She also told me about the warning," Kathy went on.

Ianto nodded. "We're pretty certain the one we're looking for is this Bilis Manger person."

He launched into everything that had been happening to the team, not holding anything back. It felt wonderful to be able to talk to someone who wasn't a member of Torchwood, and who he thought he could trust not to be under the influence of Manger or whoever was behind it all. He wasn't ashamed of asking for help, and with Kathy now bearing the Fire Dragon's mark, it made things so much easier.

As for Kathy, she listened to everything, not interrupting and taking it all in. Ianto could see her working things through, could see her putting pieces together and he hoped she would have a new perspective on what had been happening to the team in the last weeks.

"Look," she said, once he was done, "all of this time traveling and aliens and mysticism crap is beyond me. I'm just a copper who happens to live and work in one of the weirdest cities in Wales and who has a dragon for a friend."

"I know I'm chucking you into the deep end, but I really could use your input into this." Ianto valued her opinion highly, and he decided to let her have the time to process what he'd told her. At least the Fire Dragon had given him a bit of a head start in the explanation department.

She looked thoughtful. "And you're certain you've all been compromised?"

Ianto nodded. "It's obvious now that we look back at it." He'd thought about it last night, after Toshiko and Owen had left, and had come to the conclusion that he, too, had been manipulated; he'd known something was wrong, and had ignored or brushed off the feeling.

His mother would have been disappointed in him, for not remembering to listen to his heart.

"Owen was made to see Diane, who told him she'd been taken by the Rift when in fact she was actually in Alaska," he ticked off. "Tosh didn't say anything about the Fire Dragon, when she normally would have. As for me…let's just say I haven't been paying much attention to my instincts like I usually do. And now there's Jack…"

"I do trust you've taken precautions with him acting not like himself?"

"We have. And Owen and Tosh are watching him now." They'd agreed last night that the two would cover for him, while he spoke to Kathy.

"And there's no chance that this so-called influence won't get to them again?"

Ianto considered. That was also something they'd discussed. "None of us think so, now that we know it happened once we'll be on the lookout again."

He could tell she was chewing that one over. "And what about Cooper?"

Ianto sighed. "She's currently serving a suspension for misuse of Torchwood resources. She's due to come back Wednesday. As far as we know, she hasn't been approached or influenced in any way." Toshiko had also checked the recordings they'd made from the surveillance devices within the Cooper-Williams flat, and nothing looked out of the ordinary, although it was obvious that Gwen was going stir crazy.

Toshiko was planning to check CCTV later, after she went home for the evening.

It was evident that Kathy was trying very hard to keep her eye rolling under control. "Then why haven't you called her in on this?"

"Because, if we're still under some sort of surveillance," Ianto said, "I don't want whoever it is suspicious. If I met Gwen then that would be out of character for both of us…"

"Whereas you and I meet on a fairly regular basis," she finished. "Got it." She took a sip of her coffee, shuddering slightly. "Gone cold, and not a patch on yours. My treat, and then we can get back to business."

Ianto nodded, and Kathy headed up to the counter for another order. So much had changed, now that she was another Dragon-Friend. He couldn't help but feel relieved by knowing that someone he knew and trusted was now practically family. He didn't bother to hide his smile.

"Pleasant thoughts, I take it?" his friend said, setting down the two coffees she'd gotten them.

"Just thinking about welcoming you to the family," he answered.

Kathy gave him a sly smile. "Your family is too weird by half, Jones."

The dragon laughed.

"Okay," she went on, after taking a drink of the fresh coffee, "I want to look at everything you've told me in a logical manner. Frankly, I'm afraid you and the rest of your team are too close to it to see all the fiddly bits."

"You're right, of course."

"First of all," Kathy began, "you're assuming that this Manger is, if not behind it all, at least a major player."

Ianto nodded his agreement.

"That makes sense. Now, how do you think he's able to influence you all?"

"There are so many ways he could do it," the dragon said. "If it's alien tech, then we should be able to locate it and neutralize it. If it's something he's doing himself, then it's going to take finding him and making him stop in some way." He didn't add that 'some way' was most likely to be unpleasant.

"All right. Let's set that aside for the moment. What's his motive? What does he want? Is there anything in the scant evidence we have that points toward why?"

Ianto was quiet for a moment. There was only one thing, and it was what he had been thinking, back when Jack and Toshiko had been stranded in the past. "The Rift," he answered.

"But why?" she pressed. "What could he possibly want with this Rift? Can you control it?"

"No, we can't," Ianto admitted. "It's far too dangerous. We did use a program to open it successfully, to get Jack and Toshiko back from 1941, but there's not enough precision to even think about trying it again, unless it's an emergency. And even then, the equations wouldn't open the Rift fully." Opening the Rift completely could be a disaster.

"Then what about this key you said you found?"

A shiver ran down Ianto's spine. _Of_ _course_. He sat up straighter. "Bilis had the Manipulator key. But he shouldn't have; it had been taken by Torchwood One, back when Jack and I took over Three."

"Then how did he get it, let alone know it existed?"

Ianto was suddenly even gladder that Kathy Swanson was on their side. "We talked about that last night, and Owen brought up the question of how he got it. We thought, if he could travel in time, then he would have known about the battle and could have gotten it afterward."

"Of course, this still doesn't answer the second question…_how_ did he know it existed?"

And it dropped into place.

"Someone told him."

Kathy nodded. "That's obvious. Jesus, Jones…your mind really has been messed with. You're usually faster on the uptake."

Ianto cursed himself. She was right. That should have occurred to him as soon as Toshiko had shown him the key. "There were only two people in Cardiff who knew about the key and what had happened to it: myself and Jack."

"Then it had to be from one of you."

It made far too much sense to dismiss. Ianto couldn't recall the last time he'd been this frightened, that perhaps someone had taken control of his mind so thoroughly that he'd given out Torchwood secrets to a potential threat.

"I'm not saying it's you," Kathy hastened to add.

"But we can't rule me out."

"No. But I'm more leaning toward the captain than you at this point, simply because you say he's still under Bilis' control."

"Bilis could have found out about it in the past," Ianto mused, "come forward to the battle, and taken the key. In the chaos that followed I doubt he would have even been noticed, and he could have slipped back into the past easily."

"That sounds about right, especially if he was working on getting your captain under control at the time. He couldn't leave that part of his plan for too long."

"But why send Jack and Toshiko to the past in the first place? That seems far too complicated," Ianto asked. "He could have gotten to Jack here, surely?"

Kathy did roll her eyes then. "It's obvious, Jones…the perfect scene was set up in the past in order to get between you and Himself. And from what you've told me, he's done a damn fine job of doing just that."


	71. The Time Walker's Gambit Chapter Three

The Time Walker's Gambit - Chapter Three

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood...bummer.

Author's Note: Here is the next chapter. Sorry about the delay, real life completely sucks...

* * *

><p><em><strong>22 January 2008<strong>_

The moment Toshiko walked into the Hub that morning, she knew something was wrong.

She glanced at Owen, who had come in with her after the pair had stayed over at Ianto's last night. It had only made sense, after the trio had been up talking most of the night, trying to figure out what they were going to do about Jack. Owen had been all for tossing him into a cell then starting to deprogram him, but Ianto had overruled him, saying that while Jack was acting oddly he was still competent to lead the team. The dragon had said, though, that he would consider it if Jack ever became a threat to the team.

They would investigate first; Ianto had intended on asking Kathy Swanson if she'd check out some leads for them, and Toshiko hoped she'd agree. Swanson was a good cop, and could handle herself, although Ianto did have concerns that, whoever had gotten to them all would try at her. It would be up to the detective if she would help.

She and Owen had left Ianto's in plenty of time to visit their flats and get changed, and then drove in together. It felt good to have someone at her back, and Toshiko appreciated Owen's presence as they entered the Hub together. She shivered; overnight, the Hub had seemed to become more a place of shadows than it ever had been, and it bothered her that the place no longer felt like home to her.

Owen must have felt it too, judging from the small shudder he gave. "Still think we need to have an intervention," he murmured in her ear, before heading down toward the autopsy bay.

Toshiko was beginning to agree with him.

She glanced toward Jack's office; he was there, seated at his desk, doing something with his computer. Before all this happened, she would have teased him about internet porn, but now…she shivered again, moving to her own workstation and powering up the multiple monitors.

Tossing her bag under the desk, Toshiko ran her first checks of the day, mostly CCTV and Rift logs from the previous evening. She frowned; the internal CCTV didn't seem to be running, and judging from the system it had been down since a little after she and Owen had left the night before.

Another glance toward Jack's office cemented the thought in her mind that it must have been Jack who'd disabled the cameras, and while normally she would have assumed it was him and Ianto up for some fun, since she'd spent the night with the dragon Toshiko knew that wasn't the reason.

Jack was hiding something.

Since she couldn't see what was going on with the CCTV, Toshiko pulled up the scan logs for the night. She flipped through the various types of scan, finally settling for the heat scans, and keeping a surreptitious watch on her boss, Toshiko fast forwarded, tracking Jack's movements over the previous night.

It really didn't help; Jack appeared to have been all over the Hub last night, and so Toshiko shut it down. She turned instead to computer activity, wondering just what he was up to.

Toshiko didn't get very far when the Rift alarm went off.

Her eyes went wide as she took in the information her computers were giving her. _This wasn't possible… _

"What is it?" Jack's voice made her jump. He'd appeared at her shoulder as if by magic.

"It's the Rift," she said, wanting to take comfort in his presence and not being able to. Her mouth was dry as she did a second, then a third check, on what her monitors were saying. "It…the Rift, it's splintering."

This shouldn't have been happening. The Manipulator kept the Rift as calm as it could, and anything with this strength and outreach should simply have not been possible. There were cracks appearing all over Cardiff, branching out from the Hub itself and into the neighboring country, several faster moving cracks flowing across the Channel and into mainland Europe.

This was impossible.

"This is what happens when you mess with the Rift," Jack said ominously. "It should never have been opened."

Toshiko shook her head. She knew her manipulator program, and she knew exactly what it was capable of doing, and this wasn't it. If there'd been the slightest mistake in the calculations…but no, there hadn't been. She'd checked after Ianto had left yesterday, and the dragon had done everything absolutely correct.

"You're saying Ianto and me shouldn't have bothered bringing you back then?" Owen challenged, standing next to Toshiko in a show of support.

"We would have been fine," Jack snapped. "What are two lives against the destruction of the world? Opening the Rift has caused any cracks to widen, and to grow, and for Time to seep through."

"We'll find a way to stop it," Toshiko said, sounding more confident than she actually felt. "I'm going to run every scanning program we have, and see what I can find out." Her fingers flying over the keyboard, she put her plan into action, bringing the mainframe up to full computing power. There had to be another reason for this; something that didn't have anything to do with her equations.

Toshiko was proud of her work. She was very good at what she did, and wasn't afraid to say so. Ianto and Jack had often called her a genius, and it wasn't far off. While she'd never had her I.Q. tested, it had to be very high indeed.

But, she wasn't above admitting her mistakes. If she did something wrong, she would own up to it. If her equations had caused the enormity of the Rift fractures, she would say so. But as she ran her simulations she could see that what she'd done had worked the way it was supposed to have, and that her tiny opening hadn't contributed to what was going on.

It meant she had to find out what was going on.

"Toshiko," Jack interrupted.

"I need to figure this out," she answered, in far too harsh a tone than she usually used with her boss and friend.

"We know what caused it," Jack put in. "I want a meeting in the boardroom in five minutes."

A meeting wasn't going to help the situation. "I don't want to waste time," she growled, setting another simulation running. "We can't ask the world to stop ending while we talk about it!"

A hand landed on her shoulder, spinning her around in her chair. Jack's usually friendly blue eyes were glaring at her in a way that he'd never done before. "We know what caused the splintering," he reiterated. "Now we need to know how to stop it."

Toshiko shrugged his hand away. "What do you think I'm trying to fucking do?" she snapped. "I'm trying to work out just how to fix this before the world explodes!"

"Back off, Harkness," Owen stepped in, taking Toshiko's side, for which she was grateful. "You wanna stop the Rift, then let Tosh do her fucking job."

Jack's eyes glittered. "Is this insubordination from the pair of you?"

Toshiko's mouth fell open, and she didn't have to look at Owen to know he wore the same expression. "We're professionals, Jack," she said. "You hired us to do a job, and we're trying to do it. You want to know how to stop the Rift? Then I'm the one you need working on it, and I can't do that if you're calling useless meetings while the planet goes to hell!"

"Toshiko is right, sir."

She would have hugged Ianto at that point, if not for the fact that he was facing down Jack. Toshiko had no idea when he'd arrived in the Hub, but she was so happy to have him backing her up in this.

Jack turned away from her. Ianto was standing in just inside the main area of the Hub, and it was obvious that he'd come in from the garage entrance. The dragon's back was ramrod straight, the black of his suit echoing the mood within the Hub. He was wearing the professional mask that Toshiko hadn't seen him wearing ever since he and Jack had gotten together officially, and she wanted to cry at seeing it now.

"You hired us all for a reason, Captain" the dragon went on. "Let us do our jobs."

Jack stalked toward Ianto, stopping just within his personal space. "Your job was to look after the Rift, not tear it open."

Ianto looked Jack right in the eye, and Toshiko knew just how hard that had to be for him. "I did only what my commanding officer has always told us to do: never leave anyone behind. And I would do it again if the chance presented itself."

"Even though it means you've just condemned the world to destruction?" Jack challenged.

"Yes," the dragon answered. "Even if it means that. Especially if it meant saving my best friend and the man I love."

He said it with such a tone of tragic pride, that it broke Toshiko's heart. Owen wasn't unaffected, and she guessed he was thinking about Katie, and Diane. He would have been willing to tear the Rift apart to bring Diane back, when he'd thought she'd been taken by it. He'd admitted as much, during their talk last night.

"Even if that man doesn't love you back?" Jack asked, still challenging.

Ianto raised his head even higher. "Yes, even that." The pain in his ancient eyes was indescribable.

"Then I think you need to fix your mistake," Jack said, taking a step back.

Toshiko opened her mouth to defend her Second, but a look from Ianto stopped her. "If you'll let us do our jobs," he said, almost serenely, "then perhaps we can do just that."

"Fine," Jack answered. "I'll have to try to at least explain this mess to the PM and UNIT." With that, he stalked toward his office, and the distinct sound of the glass rattling as he slammed the door shut reverberated throughout the Hub.

Ianto joined Toshiko and Owen at the workstation. She reached out and took her friend's hand, and Ianto squeezed it back, accepting the comfort. Owen rested a hand on his black-clad shoulder as well, in a show of solidarity that had been missing from the Hub lately. "Show me what you've got," he said.

Toshiko proceeded to do so. She brought up all the readings she was getting, and together she and the dragon examined everything that they were being shown. "The equations didn't do this," she averred, standing behind her work. "Whatever is splintering the Rift is something completely different."

"I believe you, Tosh," Owen said. "Jack's talking outta his arse, if he thinks getting the two of you back is the reason for all this."

Ianto was looking confused. "This is not possible," he murmured, leaning over her shoulder to enter a few commands of his own into the mainframe. The readings stayed the same.

"That's what I think too," she answered. "This shouldn't be happening, with what you did to get us back."

The dragon shook his head. "No, that's not what I mean. What I mean is we shouldn't be getting these readings." His eyes suddenly changed to their dragon aspect. "Tosh, do you have your personal PDA with you?"

"Of course." She always carried it with her. Reaching under her desk, Toshiko pulled her bag out and rummaged around inside for her PDA.

"I want you to run a scan for Rift energy," Ianto said, once she had it in hand. "And don't let Jack see you do it."

Confused, Toshiko held the device below the level of her desk, switching it on and running the scan. Her eyes widened as she saw the results. "What the hell?"

The PDA was reading normal, background Rift energy.

With the amount of splintering her computer was telling her, the place should have been saturated in Rift stuff.

But there was nothing.

Ianto was nodding. "The Rift isn't out of control," he said. "If it were, I'd be able to feel it."

Of course. With Ianto's extrasensory perception of the Rift, he should have felt the wildness of the energy.

Toshiko swung back to her terminals, anger urging her on to find out what the hell was happening. Why were her computers giving her false readings? Had someone hacked into their systems?

When it hit her, her hands froze on her keyboard. She looked at Ianto. "Jack did this, didn't he?"

"What the hell?" Owen exclaimed.

"It has to be," Ianto said. "It's the only explanation."

"But why?" the medic questioned. "Why the fuck would he want to screw with us like that?"

"Jack is out of control," Toshiko said.

"It's time we relieved him of his command," Owen asserted. "This has gone on long enough."

"Wait." Ianto put his hand on Owen's arm. His face had gone pale.

"Why the hell for? He's obviously off his head. I can certify him _non_ _compos_ _mentis_, if needed – "

"That's not it," Ianto growled.

"Then what is it?" Toshiko pressed.

Ianto's face went from pained to furious in a single second. "The man in that office isn't Jack Harkness."


	72. The Time Walker's Gambit Chapter Four

The Time Walker's Gambit - Chapter Four

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, sorry...

Author's note: Welcome to the next chapter! Thanks again for everyone reading and alerting and reviewing, you are all the best. :)

* * *

><p><em><strong>22 January 2008<strong>_

Ianto couldn't believe what an idiot he'd been.

He'd been so caught up with what had happened in the past that he hadn't been paying attention to the here and now.

The dragon pulled his gun from its holster under his arm, striding toward Jack's office, knowing it was time to get some answers.

He didn't have to see to know that Toshiko and Owen were with him. If it hadn't been for the fake Rift warnings, and Toshiko's assumption that Jack had been behind them…how long would it have been before he'd checked his own senses for that tell-tale itching at the back of his mind that always accompanied Jack's presence?

He could try to make himself feel better by telling himself that the Rift energy that saturated both the fake Jack and Toshiko after their trip through time had masked that familiar tingle, but he wasn't into self-deception like that. No, Ianto hadn't sensed it because he hadn't wanted to, hadn't wanted to have Jack be within him even that tiny bit, still hurt over what had been done to the real Captain Jack Harkness back in the past.

It should have been obvious to him last night. The imposter wouldn't have had access to the Hub for as long as he had, of only he'd paid attention to his own sensory perception – or lack thereof – of his mate.

This explained so much. About the past, about the missing coat…and about Jack acting so far out of character in the first place. He really should have guessed, but he'd been so sure of simple manipulation that he'd been blind to any other explanation.

Well, he'd make up for that now.

Shoving the office door open, Ianto stormed inside, raising his gun and pointing it at the imposter, who sat behind Jack's desk, where he'd once again been working at the computer. The intruder's eyes widened as he took in the three present members of Torchwood Three, all ready to shoot if given the provocation.

And Ianto really, really wanted that provocation, for everything this person had put them all through.

"Get up and step away from the desk," Ianto ordered, thumbing off the safety of his weapon. "Keep your hands where we can see them."

The doppelganger did as Ianto bid, coming to stand in front of the desk, his hands raised in surrender. "What's going on, Ianto?" he demanded. "Why aren't you working on finding out how to close the Rift?"

"Because the Rift is just fine," the dragon spat. "It's perfectly normal."

"And what were those readings we were looking at then?" the man asked warily.

"A fake," he answered. "A very clever fake, but a fake nonetheless."

The imposter glanced over at Toshiko and Owen. "And you believe him?"

"I took a reading using my own personal PDA," Toshiko answered. "Energy readings are normal. There's no current Rift activity."

"Who the hell are you?" Owen asked sharply. "And what have you done with Harkness?"

Suddenly, the stranger smiled; a dark smile, one that looked completely wrong on Jack's face. He put his hands down, leaning against the desk almost insouciantly. "And here I thought my act had been nearly perfect."

Ianto shuddered at the tone of voice; it carried the promise of something horrible. It wasn't his mate's voice, even though it still was Jack's familiar accent and cadence. His finger tightened imperceptively on the trigger. "There were a few things that your surveillance couldn't have shown," Ianto answered, almost against his will. He stopped himself before giving all of his secrets away.

Then he frowned. Was this the manipulation that the entire team had gone through? Was whoever this was using it on them even now?

"I found the pictures," Toshiko said proudly. "We know you – or someone else – have been watching this team for a while now."

"Now, we're asking again," Ianto growled, "what have you done with my mate?"

The imposter simply stood there, smiling.

Ianto ground his teeth. The man wasn't going to cooperate. "Let's get him down into a cell. Maybe he'll agree to talk after being locked up for a while."

They relieved him of Jack's Webley, then manacled their intruder with a pair of handcuffs in Jack's desk – Owen making a snide comment about why the captain would keep them in that particular place, and Ianto not enlightening him – then the three hustled the prisoner into one of the nastier cells. Ianto removed the wrist strap from the man's wrist, not knowing if he actually knew how to use it, and then they tossed him inside after unlocking the cuffs, leaving him on his own.

"What about Jack?" Toshiko pressed, as they headed back up to the main Hub.

"It's obvious now that Jack didn't come back with you," Ianto answered, slipping the vortex manipulator into his pocket, hoping he could give it back to Jack soon.

Her hand flew up to her mouth. "Oh God, I left him back in 1941!"

Ianto nodded. "It wasn't your fault, Tosh." He hated the idea of his lover having to live through that time again, but wouldn't Jack have shown up already if he'd had to take the slow path from the past? "That dance hall was the last place he was seen," he said. "I think that's the first place we need to look." He looked at his teammates. "Tosh, I want you to go through the mainframe, and find out exactly how the intruder managed to program in all those false Rift readings. Get rid of every trace of him in the system."

"Done," she answered fiercely. If there was one thing Toshiko hated most of all, it was being fooled by her own tech.

"Owen," he turned to the medic. "I want you to search Jack's office for anything that shouldn't be there – "

"Like handcuffs?" Owen snarked.

Ianto rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean. I also want you to see if you can figure out what he was doing on Jack's computer. I know you're not as savvy at it as Tosh and I are…"

"Yeah, but even I know how to pull up the history."

"Right. And I'm going to call in a little back-up."

"Detective Swanson?" Toshiko guessed.

The dragon nodded. "Exactly. Off you both go." Once everything was settled he'd let Toshiko know about Kathy's being a Dragon-Friend, but right now they needed to take care of business first.

The two headed up, as Ianto pulled out his mobile. He speed-dialed his friend, absently tapping one highly polished shoe as he waited for her to answer.

"_What's up, Jones?"_ she greeted him.

"Kathy, I need you to forget what I asked you to do. Something has come up and this is more important." He'd originally wanted her to investigate a couple of leads having to do with Bilis Manger, including checking out a shop at the mall that was ostensibly his.

"_What happened?"_

He explained to her about Jack actually being an imposter.

"_Why look like Harkness?"_ she asked.

"There are various security systems that do scans on anyone coming into the Hub," Ianto explained. "If they haven't been approved, then alarms will go off. Whoever this was needed to get in; who better to disguise yourself as the one person with unlimited access?"

It bothered Ianto that they didn't know what their prisoner had been up to. What had been the point of generating those false Rift signatures? He knew he didn't have every piece of the puzzle but this was one of the most confusing. Just what did anyone gain by trying to trick them into thinking that the world was in danger?

"_You have a point," _Kathy answered. _"What's up then?"_

"I need you to go to the dance hall first. That was the last place we know where Jack was."

"_Jones…that was 1941. What makes you think there'd still be some trace of him there?"_

That was just it: he didn't know. "It's the only place we _can_ look at this point. If he'd been able to, he would have showed up at the Hub by now."

"_He could be dead, Ianto," _she said softly. _"You need to accept that."_

Ianto cursed to himself. Of course; he hadn't told Kathy that Jack was immortal. Certainly some of things he'd told her could have led her to the conclusion that Jack was very long-lived, but not having been around the odd and otherworldly for as long as he had, Kathy's imagination wasn't bent that way, even with her once saying she'd been exposed just because of living in Cardiff. She'd think he would have aged since being left behind.

Well, if she was going to hang around Torchwood more, she'd come to believe in the impossible. Even being a Named Dragon-Friend would mean accepting a lot of weird shit.

"Kathy," he assured her, "trust me when I say that old age isn't something Jack Harkness will ever have to worry about."

"_O…kay," _she said. _"All right, once I get to the dance hall, just how am I going to find any sort of clues that aren't 60-odd years out of date?"_

That was the issue. Ianto really didn't know.

He put his hand in his pocket, where he'd put his mate's vortex manipulator, hoping the worn leather would give him some sort of inspiration…only to discover it was gone.

What the…

Ianto knew damned well he'd slipped it into his jacket pocket once they'd left the prisoner's cell. He searched the floor, thinking maybe it had fallen out…

But it was nowhere to be seen.

Had he really taken it? Yes, Ianto was positive he had. He'd never have left something that potentially dangerous in the hands of someone who could try to use it to escape. He knew for certain that Jack had programmed many of the Hub's security codes into it, including the ones to the cell doors. He'd once teased Jack that it was a security breach waiting to happen, but his lover had brushed off his concerns.

He glanced back down the hallway toward the cell area. He knew that wasn't Jack…was it perhaps some sort of illusion, convincing him that he was actually seeing Jack when he wasn't? Had the vortex manipulator even existed? Damnit, he _hated_ doubting himself like this!

But, why hadn't their imposter taken the original? He could have used it to gain entrance quite easily…it suddenly hit Ianto that the man hadn't known what it was. Perhaps he'd only thought it was some sort of affectation. If whoever it was had truly known, they wouldn't have needed to send in a doppelganger, because the strap could have overridden almost every security protocol in the place.

Ianto was brought out of his thoughts by Kathy's concerned voice. _"Jones, you still there?"_

"Yeah," he answered, inspiration striking him. "I have an idea. Are you in your car?"

"_No,"_ she answered. _"I'd just gotten out at the mall when you called."_

"Then I need you to do something for me. Do you have the scanner I gave you?" He'd lent her one of Torchwood's portable Rift locators, thinking she would need it to take readings at both the shop they'd discovered that Bilis had owned, and at the Ritz dance hall itself.

"_Yeah." _There was a muffled sound, and Ianto guessed she was getting the scanner out from wherever she'd put it.

"Okay, I'm going to talk you through reprogramming it to search for a particular energy signature." If that was a fake vortex manipulator, perhaps Jack still had his…it was a long shot, but one he was willing to take to get his mate back.

"_Hell, Jones, you sure have a lot of faith in my abilities!"_

"Yes, Kathy…I do. Now, put your phone on speaker and we'll start…"

It didn't take long to reprogram the scanner. Kathy did it, only asking a couple of questions – one of them insightful, the other showing that she was more than a bit nervous about the whole situation – and it was no time at all before it was done. Even as he was talking her through it, a sense of hope grew within the dragon, and the more convinced he became that Jack still had to be at the dance hall somewhere. If he was out and wandering about, surely he would have tried to warn them? Yes, Ianto understood all about timelines, but it was now past the point when Toshiko and the imposter had been returned. If Jack were free, he would have come back to the Hub, knowing the coast had to be clear.

No. Somehow Jack had been detained within the Ritz dance hall. The more he considered it, the more certain he was. He just didn't know what condition Jack was in, if Kathy did find him there.

"_All right," _Kathy sighed. _"I think I got it. I'll head out to the dance hall and see what I can find. You do realize you're chasing a fairly nebulous bone here, right?"_

"I do, yes. But it's worth a chance. Be careful, all right?" He was beginning to wonder if he shouldn't have called Gwen in on this as back-up. Sending Kathy into that place alone seemed the height of stupidity…

But, at the same time, Kathy Swanson was the only one he was certain of that hadn't been manipulated in some way. Gods, he himself had just been convinced that he'd taken a non-existent wrist strap from their interloper!

"_I'll be fine," _she assured him. _"I also have the gun you gave me. I'm not going to ask how you knew I'd had gun training, since I don't actually carry on the job…"_

Ianto smirked, even though she wouldn't have been able to see it. "Because I thoroughly vetted you years ago, Detective. I know all about your father and his love of guns." It was why he'd trusted her with one of the Torchwood-issue service weapons, knowing that she could tell which one was the end most likely to go off if she needed to use it.

"_That's just plain creepy, Jones,"_ she snorted. _"Gotta go, I'll call if I find something."_

"Thank you for doing this, Kathy," he said sincerely.

"_Are you kidding? I love getting Torchwood out of trouble. It increases my own rep like you wouldn't believe!"_

She hung up, and Ianto flipped his own phone closed, putting it in his pocket. He found himself praying to any and every God, Goddess, and to the Great Dragons themselves that Jack would be all right, and that Kathy would be able to save him.

He was so distracted by his own thoughts that he didn't notice the shadows in the hall moving.

Ianto was suddenly grabbed, and before he could even react something was pushed up against his armpit, and pain tore through him like a cyclone. His heartbeat juddered horribly, and his limbs followed along, dancing and twisting helplessly.

Darkness descended.


	73. The Time Walker's Gambit Chapter Five

The Time Walker's Gambit - Chapter Five

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine, sorry.

Author's note: Here we go, the next chapter! We have this one, then one more...and then the epilogue to this, the first series in the Dragon-Verse saga. Thanks to everyone who have hung around for the ride, and for all the lovely alerts and comments and such. You've all be fantastic!

* * *

><p><em><strong>22 January 2008<strong>_

Darkness.

There was nothing but darkness.

He couldn't remember when there wasn't darkness, but then it was better than pain.

But, suddenly there was the oh-so familiar feeling of ground glass scraping against every inch of him, and the light returned, accompanied by that first large gulp of air.

This time though, that gasp didn't drown out the very loud curse, practically shrieked by a female voice that was very familiar.

Jack's eyes flew open, and he coughed roughly, feeling as if his entire throat had been coated in dust. He rolled over and spat, trying to clear the dryness away, and carefully levered himself up.

He found himself in a dark, rubble-strewn space, the mustiness of years hanging heavy in the air. From what he could tell, it was some sort of cellar…or an abandoned air-raid shelter, since the last thing he remembered was being tossed back in time with –

"Toshiko!" he tried to shout, but all that came out was a harsh croak.

"She's fine," the feminine voice answered. "Jesus Christ, Harkness, you really know how to freak a person out!"

Jack blinked in the direction of the voice. His eyes widened in surprise as he took in Detective Inspector Kathy Swanson, kneeling not too far away, her face pale in shock. "What the hell are you doing here?" he asked, confusion making it come out a bit harsher than he'd intended.

"Jones sent me," she answered, brushing her dark coat down and standing. "Only he didn't see fit to warn me that you'd pop back up like some sort of weird jack-in-the-box!"

"He sent you back in time?" Jack frowned. Why would Ianto do that, especially with a civilian? That didn't make any sense.

"Hell, no," she answered. "It's 2008, not 1941."

Jack stilled, staring at her. "What?" The very last thing he remembered was being asked into the manager's office, and then…pain. He rubbed his chest where the pain had been, and his hand came away with flaky, old blood. Confusion floated among the very hazy recollections he had of his time in the past. "What the hell happened?"

"Let's get the hell out of here," Swanson urged, taking him by the arm and urging him toward the shadowed opening where the entrance to the underground room.

Jack let her lead, trying to dredge up the memories of how he'd gotten where he was. He could recall following the real Jack Harkness somewhere…them meeting that manager, Bilis Manger…the captain shook his head, rubbing his chest once more. Had he been stabbed?

Weak light flooded Jack's eyes, and he blinked to clear his vision as he and his escort made their way up unto the dance hall proper. It was as he remembered from when he and Toshiko had first arrived: run down, dusty, smelling of must and decay. Dust moats rose in the air as they moved on, and it was preternaturally silent, as if they were walking through another world. Jack shivered, suddenly spooked and wanting to get out of the building as soon as they could.

Swanson led him outside, and to a sedan that had 'unmarked police car' written all over it. He stopped, and she stopped with him, just as they reached the vehicle. "What's going on?" he demanded, pulling the fragments of his captain persona around himself as best he could, not really wanting her to see how upset he was. "And why did Ianto send you, and not someone from Torchwood?"

The detective nodded. She glanced up, then down, the street, as if trying to suss out the territory. "All right," Swanson said. "Maybe if you knew why Jones trusted me to come looking for you, you'll accept the rest of the story."

With those words, she shrugged the left sleeve of her coat off, followed by the jacket underneath. She pulled up the cuff of her shirt…to reveal a small tattoo of a flaming dragon.

To say he was shocked was an understatement. Kathy Swanson…a Dragon-Friend? When had that happened? Had Ianto known, and not told him? No, his mate would have said something before the big reveal. A part of Jack was glad that Ianto had a friend outside the Hub he could trust; but there was another part who would always be a bit jealous of their closeness, which was irrational considering that Ianto was fully committed to him, and no one else.

"So," he said, as she put herself back together, "when did this happen?"

"Only about a week ago," Swanson answered. "Finding out one of my closest friends is actually a dragon was not what I was expecting, let me tell you."

Jack nodded. "Okay, I can see why Ianto trusted you."

Swanson opened the drivers' side door. "Let's get in the car where it's warm, and I can tell you what's been going on."

Jack climbed in after her, watched as she wriggled around, pulling out a Torchwood-issue weapon and a Rift activity locator out of her pockets and setting them on the dash. Seeing both of those really brought it home that Ianto had truly trusted Swanson on this mission, and he wondered why it hadn't been any of the others…or Ianto himself.

His memories were still vague, and once again he rubbed his chest. His shirt was a mess, and Jack knew he must have died at some point. His Webley was missing, which bothered him; but at least he still had his vortex manipulator.

Swanson turned in her seat, and began. As the story progressed, Jack became more and more disturbed by it. All of this had been going on, right under his nose! Owen had been manipulated into thinking Diane had been taken by the Rift; Toshiko so that she actually withheld an important warning; and Ianto…this was a disaster.

And the story got worse.

By the time Swanson had gotten up through her breakfast with Ianto that morning, Jack's jaw was clenching so hard he vaguely wondered if he'd need to regrow his teeth. He wanted to find whoever had impersonated him and kill them, slowly and in creative ways. That they'd hurt Ianto in the process…had broken his heart while the dragon had thought it was Jack doing it… And Jack didn't even want to consider the real Jack Harkness, and what he'd gone through. The man had been a hero on paper, and Jack had taken his name because it had suited his purposes. To know that he, even peripherally, had been involved in the man's downfall…

More guilt for him to deal with.

"When did Ianto know that wasn't me?" Jack asked, in a moment when Swanson had taken a breath.

"He called me just as I was following up a lead at the mall," she explained. "Somehow they'd figured out that Manger had a shop there, and Jones gave me that thing – " she pointed at the portable Rift detector "– and showed me how to use it. He also gave me the gun, cause apparently he knows more about me than I thought."

"That's Ianto," Jack said proudly. His mate was quite good at digging up things about other people.

"Yeah, I should know better than to underestimate him," she agreed. "But he told me that they'd worked out that whoever was back at your base wasn't you, and he told me to come here to look for you, since this was where you'd last been seen, even though it was 60 years ago." She rolled her eyes. "I really didn't expect to find you."

Jack picked up the scanner, reading what Ianto had asked Swanson to scan for. Once more he felt proud of the dragon, choosing to look for his vortex manipulator. He was just glad that whoever had taken his place hadn't taken it as well as his Webley. It would have been a mess otherwise.

He recalled every conversation he'd had with Ianto over Jack's insistence at storing all of the Hub codes in his wrist strap. The dragon could have been right, about someone getting their hands on it and using it to gain access to the Hub, but at least this time it hadn't happened. He'd have to apologize for arguing about it later.

"We need to get back to the Hub," he said, reaching around and pulling on his seatbelt.

"Wait!" she exclaimed. "I found you, and you were dead with a spike in your chest. It looked like you hadn't been dead long, so I pulled it out, but you were dead! How did you come back?"

Jack barely stifled a sigh. "Let's just say death doesn't like me very much, all right? I'm not sure how it works." So that was what had happened. Bilis must have killed him, and then used a spike through his heart to make sure that organ couldn't regenerate. Without a way to repair itself around a spike, even if he had revived it wouldn't have been for long.

He'd been dead since 1941. Somehow, it hadn't felt that long, and yet it had seemed like forever.

Of course, it made him wonder just how the man had known he was immortal.

It was one of the many questions he intended to ask, once they caught up with him. Or maybe Jack could take his frustrations out on whoever the imposter in the Hub was.

"Why did you take the spike out?" he asked curiously, as Swanson started the car.

A faint blush colored her skin. "It's no secret how he feels about you, Harkness," she answered. "I didn't want him to see you like that."

Jack reached over and rested his hand on hers. "Thanks," he said sincerely.

"Yeah, well…spare me the gushing, okay? Let's get you back to your base and find out what the hell's going on."

That sounded like the best idea Jack had heard in over 60 years.

* * *

><p>He had Swanson pull into the garage and park next to the SUV. At first, Jack had considered not showing her the Hub, but she'd earned it after coming to his rescue. Plus, being a Dragon-Friend, gave her a few extra privileges in Jack's book than most visitors got.<p>

After gathering up the gun and the scanner, Jack led Swanson through the garage entrance, and down the corridor toward the main Hub. Swanson walked beside him, and he could tell she was trying very hard not to stare. Jack failed to hide the smirk from his face, and she ended up punching him in the arm.

It actually hurt, but Jack flatly refused to rub the area.

Myfanwy's cry met them as they entered the work area. Swanson muttered something about 'how the sightings were true' and Jack laughed.

"Jack!"

Before he knew it, Toshiko was hugging him. How she'd gotten from her work station to where Jack and Swanson were so quickly he'd never know.

He hugged her back, glad that she was all right. Owen joined them, clapping Jack on the back a little rougher than was strictly necessary. Jack was glad that his team was safe, and that it seemed as if they'd weathered the storm that had been brought upon them.

"Where's Ianto?" he asked, needing to see his mate.

"In your office," Owen answered. "Your imposter was messing around in there, and he's checking your computer out."

Jack turned to look toward his office…

His eyes narrowed.

He pulled the gun he'd put in his pocket, and ran toward the office.

To the imposter sitting in his chair.

"Jack!" Toshiko shouted, and he knew they were following him.

Bilis Manger – it was him at Jack's desk – must have noticed something was going on, because he suddenly stood, as Jack charged into the office.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Owen demanded.

"That's not Ianto," Jack snarled, aiming the weapon straight at the man who'd killed him back in 1941. He didn't know why his team was seeing Ianto, but there was no way the bastard was going to fool him.

Manger smiled, a strange, twisted thing, his dark eyes narrowed. "Welcome back, Captain," he practically purred.

Jack didn't answer. He pulled the trigger.

Manger was knocked backward as the bullet struck him high in the chest, blood blossoming against his brocade jacket. The man hit the floor hard, and Jack was around the desk in moments, the Torchwood-issue automatic pointing directly at their intruder.

He heard Toshiko gasp and Owen swear, and Jack realized they could now see the man they'd thought was Ianto. He ignored his team for the moment, keeping his attention on Manger, who was holding his shoulder and grimacing in pain. "Where's Ianto?" he growled, racking the slide with a bit more violence than was entire necessary, but he was worried about his mate.

Manger simply smiled.

Then he was gone, the spot on the floor he'd been occupying suddenly empty.

Jack swore loudly and vociferously. "We need to find Ianto," he ordered.

"I'm running scans now," Toshiko shouted, leaving the office.

"That was our fucking intruder," Owen snapped, kicking the side of Jack's desk in frustration. "How the fuck did he look like you or Ianto? Shape-changer?"

"I don't much care," Jack answered, dumping the gun back into his greatcoat pocket. "We need to know what he was up to."

"He reprogrammed all the sensors to show a Rift rupture," Owen answered. "Tosh was working on tracking all the hacking when you walked it. I thought Ianto was doing the same up here…Damnit!"

A Rift rupture? Why did he want to do that…?

And then something occurred to him.

Jack turned back to Swanson, who'd been watching from the doorway. She looked worried, and he could understand why. Jack himself was terrified that something had happened to his mate, and it would only be when he saw Ianto once more that he'd feel better.

"Detective," he said, "Ianto told you about the Rift Manipulator key."

She nodded. "Jones said that only you and him knew about it."

Jack nodded. That was true; they'd discovered it missing after Torchwood One had been tossed out on their collective asses.

"Owen," he went on, "do you know where the key is?"

The medic shook his head. "Ianto hid it after Tosh showed it to him. He didn't tell us where it was."

"That key is the only way to open the Rift halfway safely," Jack said. "Frankly, I didn't mind One having it at all; I didn't want the temptation in the Hub. But, if Manger was faking the Rift tearing itself open…Owen, he convinced you that Diane had been taken by the Rift, most likely to get you to open it for him, if he couldn't get into the Hub proper."

"You're saying that bastard wants you all to open this Rift," Swanson said.

"I am."

"Excuse me," Owen said, "but what is she doing here?"

"Because I trust her," Jack answered, leaving the office. "Tell me you found him, Toshiko!" he called down to her.

Toshiko nodded. "There's a heat source down in the corridor off the cells." She looked up, worry in her eyes. "It has to be him, but he's not warm enough…"

Jack cursed, and Owen echoed him. "Getting my kit," the doctor said, splitting off and heading toward the autopsy bay.

Jack didn't wait. He tore off down toward the cells, and he knew that Swanson followed him. He was so afraid, it leant speed to his feet as he raced toward his lover, not knowing what he'd find. Manger had to have incapacitated him in some way, and the words 'not warm enough' gave his imagination all sorts of horrific pictures and he shoved them out of his brain, concentrating on getting to his mate as quickly as possible.

Skidding around a corner, Jack's heart crashed into his stomach as he found the motionless body of his mate crumpled onto the cold flood.


	74. The Time Walker's Gambit Chapter Six

The Time Walker's Gambit - Chapter Six

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, sorry.

Author's note: Here we go! We have one more chapter after this one, and then the epilogue...and then, the Year that Never Was. Thanks for sticking with me for the ride!

* * *

><p><em><strong>22 January 2008<strong>_

Torn between going to find her best friend and making certain the Hub was secure, Toshiko watched as both Jack and Kathy Swanson tore down toward the cells, while Owen dashed into the autopsy bay, going after his medical kit, coming back out almost immediately and following the others.

When Jack had appeared in the Hub with Swanson, it had been a surprise. Toshiko had never been happier to see anyone, and she was looking forward to finding out just what had happened to Jack in 1941, and what had managed to keep him away from the Hub.

The ugly surprise had been when Jack had accused Ianto of not actually being Ianto.

Toshiko had no idea how Jack had known. It had taken her a short while to figure out how Ianto had realized the Jack before had been an imposter; when she had, she'd wondered how he hadn't known immediately. She'd even asked the false Ianto about it, and he'd simply shrugged it off…and she'd been fine with the lack of answer.

She hated doubting herself.

And when, Ianto had suddenly become the man she'd known as Bilis Manger, much of what was going on had snapped into place in her mind, and she'd figured out that it had been him all along, manipulating them all into doing whatever it was that he'd wanted.

Although, they still didn't know what that was, only that it must have to do with the Rift.

Making her decision, Toshiko went back to her workstation, and was greeted by a flashing warning: 'TEMPORAL ENERGY SIGNATURE DETECTED'. Frowning, she tracked down the source…and found it had been in Jack's office.

Another piece went into place: Bilis Manger himself was the time traveler.

Well, there were ways to make sure he didn't get away with finding his way back into the Hub undetected.

Toshiko quickly fed the energy signature into the scanners, making certain that the intruder alarm went off if it reappeared. She wasn't even aware of the small smile of victory that crossed her face as she made sure that Bilis Manger could not get back in without anyone knowing about it.

She locked her computer down, and went to check on her friend.

Owen was kneeling on the floor of the corridor, examining a very pale Ianto who lay in a crumpled heap, body twisted uncomfortably. She gasped; she couldn't help it. Toshiko wasn't used to seeing him like that; she was so used to the strong, practically indestructible dragon, and she could feel tears in her eyes that she hastily brushed away.

Jack was next to the fallen dragon, one of Ianto's hands in his. Kathy was hovering, and she was chewing on a fingernail as she watched Owen checking pulse and respiration. He didn't look happy at what he was finding. "Help me open his shirt," the medic commanded, and Jack obeyed without question, hastily unbuttoning the dark blue shirt – wrestling with the leather shoulder holster – and revealing the pale human skin underneath.

Toshiko couldn't help but gasp at the red mark that extended from under Ianto's arm and across his chest.

Owen checked it over carefully, cursing at the extent of what looked like a bad burn. "That bastard used a stun gun on him," he reported angrily.

"But that's…" Toshiko broke off, glancing at Swanson and not wanting to say too much in her presence.

Jack didn't look up. "Show them, Kathy," he requested.

"I'm starting to feel like a bloody stripper," the detective sighed. She slipped out of her coat, and then her jacket, rolling up her sleeve to expose her wrist.

No wonder Jack had let her into the Hub.

Toshiko nodded, acknowledging the tattoo. They'd talk later, but at that moment Ianto was the most important.

"That's one of the areas that you can hit to kill him," she finished, knowing she could trust the other woman now.

"No shit," Owen commented. "Manger must have done his homework to know that particular fact. And I'd have to say it was set on its highest setting."

"Can you help him?" Jack asked, his eyes haunted. He ran a hand down Ianto's too-pale face.

"Hitting that spot isn't a guarantee you're gonna kill him, and our standard issue stun guns aren't powerful enough. I doubt even a lightning bolt getting just the right place is gonna do that. Ianto's gonna be one pissed off dragon when he wakes up, but he'll be fine enough to make the coffee in the morning. He's just not gonna be moving too fast when he does it."

Jack looked relieved, and Toshiko felt the same thing. It just wasn't right, seeing Ianto like that.

"Let's get him off this cold floor," Jack said. "Help me lift him."

Owen snorted. "He's so gonna owe me for lugging his heavy arse self around…"

Yes, Ianto was going to be fine if Owen was joking about lifting him.

Between them both, Jack and Owen got Ianto carried into the autopsy bay. Toshiko went ahead, gathering up some blankets in order to make the metal table a bit more comfortable for her friend. By the time they were laying him down carefully, the autopsy table had been covered by an old quilt, and she was ready with another one to cover him with. His skin was a bit cold to the touch, and she asked Owen about it as he was pulling out his equipment in order to treat the burn mark left from the attack.

"It was still a shock to his system, to get stunned like that," the medic answered. "Enough to put him down for the count. When the body goes into shock, its temperature can drop a bit, as blood rushes toward the affected areas. That's why Dragon Boy is cold. He'll be all warmed up once he recovers. Or else Harkness can warm him up himself."

Jack leered; the expression had a lot more life in it than his face had had, back in the corridor. "Anything I can do to aid in the recovery of a team member." He took his place once more at Ianto's side, keeping as much out of Owen's way as possible.

"Medicinal purposes only, Harkness," Owen answered back.

Kathy was opening her mouth to say something, when the sudden shrill of the internal alarms interrupted her.

Toshiko's heart raced, and she couldn't help the grin on her face. She spun and headed up the steps to the main area, knowing that her teammates would be following her. She really wanted a chance at Manger, for putting her friends and teammates through everything he had. To her, it didn't matter what his motivation was; he'd tried to kill her best friend, he'd somehow trapped Jack in the past, and had convinced Owen that the woman he loved had been taken by the Rift. There was no excuse for the manipulation he'd done.

The main Hub was empty.

Toshiko was quite disappointed.

"What the hell was that?" Owen shouted from the autopsy bay steps.

She sighed, turning the alarm off. "I set an alert using the temporal signature Manger used to vanish from Jack's office. That was him, trying to get back in."

"Well done, Toshiko," Jack praised. He was holding the gun that he'd used to shoot Manger, and was searching the Hub for any trace. Toshiko knew he wanted to get a second chance at the man himself, for what he'd done.

Suddenly, the alarm went off again.

Only, this time she felt someone grab her from behind, and pull her roughly toward the Rift Manipulator. Cold metal pressed against her side.

"Drop your weapon, Captain," a voice purred past her ear.

Toshiko hated being taken hostage.

The least he could have done was let her turn off the alarm.

Jack was lowering his gun, although he wasn't getting rid of it. Toshiko looked at him and rolled her eyes, and one side of his mouth turned up before he must have remembered he needed to be serious. Jack was well aware that she could take care of herself; Manger was injured, she could tell by the dampness seeping into her blouse from the back. It would be fairly simple to duck out of his grasp by exploiting that bullet wound, but let him think she was helpless. As much as she wanted to hurt him for hurting Ianto, she knew Jack would want to get as much information out of him as he could. Then, Toshiko could act.

"Just tell us what you want," Jack said, in the tone he always adopted for negotiations…well, it was actually him wanting to get some answers by playing into the bad guys' obvious need for gloating and ranting, disguised as a negotiation tactic.

"I want the Rift Manipulator key," Manger demanded. "I know our Ms Sato took it from my office, and I want to know where it is."

"You incapacitated the only person who knew where it was," Owen broke in. This was the medic's usual attempt at belittling the bad guy and trying to get them all killed. "Dragon Boy hid it, and he didn't bother to tell anyone else.

Toshiko felt Manger's grip tighten on her. "You're lying," he accused.

"Why would I lie about it?" Owen snorted.

"Why do you want to open the Rift?" Kathy asked.

It was a very logical question, and she could see Jack spear a look in her direction, as if she'd somehow stomped all over his favorite rose garden.

"I wish to release my Master," he answered, and Toshiko didn't like the tone of complete worship in the voice. "The son of the Great Beast, cast out of time, chained in rock and imprisoned below the Rift."

"Now _that_ didn't sound half crazy," Owen said sarcastically.

"Who are you talking about?" Jack asked, confused. "There's nothing beneath the Rift."

"There is!" Manger insisted. "Abaddon, the Great Devourer, who will feast on all life once he is freed from his prison."

"We can't let you open the Rift," Jack said. "It could destroy the world."

"What do I care of the world, when my Master will be free?"

Toshiko knew that Jack wanted to get answers for what had happened, but she was beginning to wish he'd shoot Manger and get it over with.

Then she saw movement by the autopsy bay, and she tensed, waiting for the right moment…

She got it.

Toshiko moved, pushing back against her captor's chest, making certain she hit the wound that Jack's earlier gunshot had caused. Manger released his grasp on her as he gasped in agony, and she ducked away, rolling across the hard metal grill of the floor, not caring about any bruises she might get from it.

A shot rang out, and a bit of blood hit her cheek as she turned to look back.

A perfect hole had formed in Bilis Manger's head.

There was such a look of shock on the man's face as he fell backward, colliding with the Rift Manipulator on the way down.

"That was for fucking with my family," a rough, Welsh-accented voice echoed in the silence after the shot.

Toshiko stood up, grinning as she made eye contact with Ianto. He stood on the steps of the autopsy bay, gun held in a steady hand, the barrel still pointing toward where Manger had been standing. His face was still far too pale, his eyes were in their dragon aspect, and his shirt was open and revealing the ugly mark of the stun gun on his chest. But he looked absolutely wonderful, and it was all Toshiko could do not to run up and hug him. She didn't think he would be able to handle the pressure on his injury.

Then his arm lowered, and she saw him flip the safety just before the gun clattered to the floor. "I'd appreciate some help," he requested, sounding suddenly weak. He swayed, his hip bumping against the steps' railing.

Jack shook off his apparent surprise, moving to Ianto's side. He looped an arm around the dragon's waist. "Even in shock you have the second-best eye in the place," he joked, grinning.

Ianto raised an eyebrow, but even that usually normal movement looked tired. "Second-best? Who would be the first then?"

"That would be me," Owen bragged, moving to Ianto's other side. "Let's get you looked at, then Harkness can take you home."

Ianto nodded wearily, although the look he gave Owen spoke volumes as to what he thought about the medic's claim. He glanced at Toshiko, his eyes checking her over for any injuries. "I'm fine," she answered. "Although I think it's someone else's turn to act as hostage next time."

"I'll be glad to take the next turn," the dragon offered. "But not until I feel better, all right?"

"Is this what passes for a normal day for Torchwood?" Kathy asked sarcastically.

"Hell no," Jack answered happily. "This is a relatively quiet day. You interested in a place on the team, Detective?"

"You're kidding, right?" she scoffed. "I think I'll stick with being a plain, simple copper."

"There's nothing plain about you, Kathy," Ianto said. Gratitude gave a bit of color to his face.

"C'mon, Dragon Boy," Owen ordered, "down and back on the table. You're not going anywhere until I'm satisfied you're not gonna keel over."

Jack and Owen helped Ianto back down the steps, and Toshiko went with them. Kathy stood for a second, her eyes narrowed. "Oi!" she shouted. "You didn't argue with me about being simple!"

Ianto's laughter floated through the Hub.

Toshiko smiled. Everything was going to be fine.


	75. The Time Walker's Gambit Chapter Seven

The Time Walker's Gambit - Chapter Seven

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine. sorry...

Author's note: This is it...just the epilogue after this chapter, and then on to the Year That Never Was. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with this, you guys are awesome. Hope you enjoy this and the next story in the series.

Also, I have written several future stories in this universe that I have not posted here yet. Would you want them posted out of order, or to wait until I get to them? If I wait, it might be a long while since I have to get all the way through the next year and the Second Series...whatever you'd like, please let me know.

* * *

><p><em><strong>22 January 2008<strong>_

Jack stayed with Ianto until he was asleep. He tucked the old quilt around the slumbering dragon, caressing a pale cheek before heading out of the autopsy bay, glad that Ianto's human skin was getting back to its much warmer state. After he saw to the rest of the team, he would take Ianto home where he could transform back into his dragon shape, and all Jack wanted to do was to curl up next to him and sleep.

_He could have lost them all_. That thought followed him as he headed up toward the main Hub. _He could have lost Ianto_. But he hadn't, and his team had acted as best they could under the circumstances they'd found themselves in, just because a madman had wanted to destroy the world.

Just another day for Torchwood.

Manger's body had been removed, and someone had cleaned up the blood and brain that had been splattered all over the Rift Manipulator. One man had caused all the grief they'd been through; it was almost mind-boggling what a person would do for something they believed in. But of course, his own people were the same, in that they would do whatever it took to keep this planet safe, because it was what they believed in.

Jack believed in them just as strongly.

Toshiko, Owen, and Kathy were gathered around the technician's station, talking quietly. Toshiko looked up and must have seen Jack approach; she nodded, and it drew the attention of the other two to Jack. He returned the nod and joined them, standing next to Owen and putting his hand on the medic's shoulder. "Good to have you back," he said sincerely.

Owen nodded, looking contrite. "Yeah, I'm sorry about everything I said to you – "

"No apologies needed. It wasn't you."

"But still, I feel bad about it. I should have said something, instead of just blaming you for something you didn't do."

Jack squeezed his shoulder in comfort. Manger had gotten under all of their skins. There really hadn't been anything anyone could have done about it.

"I want you both to take tomorrow off," he said. "We've all been through hell the last couple of days, and we deserve the time. I don't want to see either of you within miles of this place tomorrow, unless the world is ending."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Owen said, "but if Dragon Boy complains of shortness of breath, his heart starts fluttering, or he develops a fever or chills, I want you to call me, Jack."

"I will, don't worry." He was planning on driving his mate home and taking care of him.

Toshiko moved forward and hugged him. "Thank God you're all right," she whispered.

Jack returned it. "I'm always all right."

She pulled back just enough to look him in the eye. "No, Jack…you aren't. You might come back from the dead, but that doesn't mean you're all right. Let Ianto look after you too, okay?"

He was touched by her words. "I will, gorgeous. Thanks for everything." He kissed her forehead.

Then he turned to Kathy Swanson. Jack wanted to hug her as well, but thought he knew her well enough that the gesture wouldn't be appreciated. "Thank you, detective," he said. "You helped my team and most likely helped stop the end of the world."

Kathy huffed. "Well, I'd say it was all in a days' work, but I've never actually saved the world before. I don't know how you all do it day in, day out."

"It's what we do," Toshiko answered, shrugging. "Someone has to."

"Are you sure you wouldn't want a place on my team?" Jack asked. "You'd be very welcome." He hoped she'd say yes. It occurred to Jack that he'd hired the wrong copper, and that Kathy would be an incredible asset to Torchwood.

"No, sorry," she replied. "I'm fine with helping you out when you need it, but you lot are just too weird to hang out with every day. And really, I'm not too sure about some of your practices. Besides, you might need a friendly face on the force."

Jack nodded, disappointed. "Fair enough." He held out a hand to her. "Thanks again, Detective. I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again, especially with you being a Dragon-Friend."

Surprisingly, Kathy did embrace him then. "You hurt him," she whispered in his ear, "and I'll find a way to make you stay dead. Got it?"

Jack couldn't help but grin. "Got it," he answered, hugging her back. He felt lucky that Ianto had such good friends as her, although he also felt that small twinge of jealousy that he always did around her.

Kathy stepped back, as if embarrassed by the show of emotion. "We might not always see eye-to-eye, Harkness," she said, "but I can't help but feel like you really got a raw deal with this not dying thing. It must be a bitch."

"It is." He was very grateful for her words. Kathy seemed to grasp that his apparent immortality was a curse, unlike some. "But at least I have someone to share the centuries with now."

"Better get off," the detective said. "I'm sure the DCI is wondering what the hell I'm up to." She turned to Toshiko. "I'll call you, yeah?"

"You better," Toshiko said in a mock-growl. "I think this could be the start of a great friendship."

Kathy grinned. "Yeah. We even have something in common. Besides, I wanna know all about this Dragon-Friend lark. I don't think the Fire Dragon gave me all the details, to be honest."

"Better you two than me," Owen sniffed. "There's just something screwy about metaphysical dragons dropping by for unexpected visits. Our Dragon Boy is enough for me."

In perfect harmony both Toshiko and Kathy rolled their eyes. Ianto would have been proud.

"On that note," Kathy said, "I'm outta here. I'd like to say it's been fun, but dealing with my DCI is a lot less stressful."

"If you'll wait a second," Toshiko said, "I'll walk out with you." She gathered her things and the two Dragon-Friends exited together.

"C'mon," Owen said, "let's get Ianto out to his car so you can get him home."

That was the best idea Jack had heard yet.

* * *

><p>Jack supported Ianto as they entered the house, his arm around the dragon's human waist and holding him as close as possible. He was warmer, and more responsive, but Jack didn't want to let go.<p>

He never thought of himself as particularly needy, but tonight it was coming out in him full stop. For perhaps the very first time, he was facing the very real idea that he could have lost his team…and his mate. He'd fallen into Manger's trap back in the past, and while he couldn't really remember what had happened, Jack felt it was somehow his fault. That he'd been weak in some way, and had endangered the team because of it. As for the real Captain Harkness…Jack mourned him, as he had Gray. The man had been an innocent, drawn into events by Manger and his designs to break himself and Ianto apart. And Jack had taken his name based on a lie.

He felt dirty, and that the filth would never wash off.

"Stop thinking so loud," Ianto chastised softly. "You're taking the blame and you shouldn't be."

Jack maneuvered his lover through the lounge, toward the stairs. "I don't want to think about that," he said honestly. "I just want to take care of you tonight."

"I think we need to take care of each other," Ianto said, his own arm tightening around Jack's waist.

"Let's get you upstairs and into a bath," he answered.

"Will you join me?" the dragon asked coyly.

Jack rolled his eyes. "For a bath only," he replied. "We're both too tired for anything else, and I don't want Owen on my ass if something happens to all that good work he did on your chest." He needed to clean himself up; he felt decades of grime on his skin, and Jack was well aware that Manger had kept his body stored in the old bomb shelter ever since his 'death' in 1941.

"Agreed," Ianto murmured. "I doubt I'm up to more tonight. I never knew a stun gun could hurt me like that."

"He knew your weak area." That frightened Jack more than anything. Ianto might be very long lived – for all intents and purposes, immortal – but he wasn't like Jack, and certain things could take him away at any time. That was the last thing Jack wanted; he _needed_ Ianto in his life, and losing him simply wasn't an option.

"You're thinking too hard again."

Jack started, smiling softly at the dragon in his hold. "Yeah, I know. Let's get comfortable, okay? You have a seat, and I'll run the bath."

It was a sign of the dragon's tiredness that he didn't argue, and in fact took a seat on the human bed in his loft, bending over carefully to remove his shoes one-handed, the sling that Owen had given him a definite hindrance.

Jack left him for as long as it took for him to go into the en-suite, and begin to fill the tub, adding some of the lavender bath salts Ianto enjoyed. He knew that Ianto would have preferred to change to dragon-form and clean his scales first by using the hose in the back garden, but in his weakened condition Jack didn't trust him not to come down with a cold in the winter weather. A regular, human bath would have to do.

As the bath was running, he went back out into the loft to help Ianto remove the suit he'd been wearing. It was a testament to the dragon's frame of mind that he'd chosen to wear all black that morning; he must have been truly hurt by the fake Jack, and that caused an ache to settle into Jack's chest.

"I knew it wasn't you," Ianto murmured as Jack slowly stripped the clothing layers away. "Well, not at first…but I thought it was just because of all the Rift energy that had saturated you as you'd traveled through time. But this morning, when I'd arrived at the Hub…I could tell it wasn't you. But I have to be honest…I was so hurt by what had happened back in the past that I didn't even try to sense you. Once I did though…Jack, I'm sorry I doubted you. I didn't want to think you'd done something like that, or that you'd turned your back on us – "

Jack put a finger over Ianto's lips, stopping the flow of words. "I don't blame you for doubting. But it's over now, and I promise you this: I will never hurt you intentionally." Jack removed his finger, replacing it with his lips. The kiss was soft, and warm, and it held the promise that Jack had made verbally. He didn't want Ianto to ever doubt him again.

He eventually broke away. He reveled in the look of happiness on Ianto's face, and the sparkle in his blue eyes. "Bath time for you," he said, taking the dragon by the hand.

"For both of us," Ianto answered, following willingly.

Jack turned the taps off, glad that they'd broken the kiss when they had; he didn't want to have to clean up a minor flood if the bath had run over.

He helped Ianto to get in, trying to not to dwell on the ugly redness and bruising on the pale torso. It had gotten worse as time had gone on, and Jack didn't like that his dragon had been hurt.

Once Ianto was settled, Jack removed his own clothes and got in behind him, glad that the bathtub was large enough to accommodate both of them. He urged Ianto to rest against his chest, as he found the flannel and began to carefully wash his lover, fingers lightly stroking over the injury, trying to soothe and not hurt. Judging from the purring the dragon was making, he was succeeding.

This felt _right_, having Ianto in his arms…in his life. Before meeting the dragon, Jack had always believed that, in the end, he would be alone. That he would live on and on, losing everyone he'd ever loved to death, unless he could find the Doctor and be fixed.

But now…Ianto would be with him, hopefully for the eternity that dragons mate for. That was why he wanted this mating so very badly; Ianto had grown so important to him, that he couldn't see _not_ being without him. He would do anything to make sure Ianto would be there, by his side, forever.

The dragon relaxed completely against him, and Jack knew that if Ianto fell asleep again in human form that it would make things worse for his recovery. He gently roused his lover, chivvying him out of the bath and drying him with the soft red towels that Ianto loved so well. "Go on in," he urged. "I'll be in as soon as I get dry myself."

Ianto followed the instructions placidly, giving away just how tired he was. Jack could make out the golden glow of him changing into his natural form as he toweled his body off, then after he'd pulled the plug on the tub he padded naked into the loft. He found his lover sprawled on his side, facing the large skylight, his wings splayed out on the carpet instead of curled against his powerful body as he usually rested them. The dragon was obviously trying to keep pressure off his injured chest, and Jack had to hide his chuckles at just how boneless he looked. It was almost like watching a large, green-scaled cat.

Kneeling beside the large head, Jack began to stroke the dragon's snout, in the way he knew Ianto liked. With a sigh of contentment his slitted blue eyes slid closed, and he quietly began to sing.

Jack didn't recognize the song, but it was sweet-sounding, the dragon-words floating about them with an almost airless quality. He continued to run his fingers along the fine green scales, warm and alive under his touch. The song permeated his very soul, and Jack found himself laying down on the pillows and cushions that made up the dragon's bed, his body pressed against the sinuous neck, still touching his lover. He closed his eyes and let the song take him up, to another place, where two dragons flew together, forever.

It was the one thing he wanted more than anything, to truly mate with this wonderful dragon.

The song faded as Ianto gave in to sleep, and Jack wrapped his arms around his lover's neck, snuggling himself against the one being he loved more than anything, and let sleep take him as well.


	76. Epilogue

Series One - Epilogue

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, sorry

Author's note: And here we are...the Epilogue to Dragon-Verse, Series One. It's been an amazing ride, and you all have been amazing. I appreciate everyone who has commented, and alerted, and favorite'd this, it's been so much fun!

Next up, is the Year of the Toclafane, and details Jack and the team as they fight their way through the Master's reign over the Earth. Be looking for that. Also, I don't think I made much sense when I mentioned future stories...I meant to post them individually, not as part of either Series One or Series Two. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to post them yet or not.

Now, on with the story!

* * *

><p><em><strong>24 January 2008<strong>_

And so, things returned to normal.

Well, as normal as things were for Torchwood.

Everyone came back in, refreshed after their 'adventure' with Bilis Manger. Ianto smiled out over the main Hub area from the gantry, where he'd been feeding Myfanwy; he and the pteranodon had as good a friendship as one could have between dragon and ancient flying lizard, and they respected each other. She nuzzled his good shoulder, looking for more, and Ianto laughed, pushing her away. "Go on, greedy," he encouraged. "You've eaten more than I do on a day!"

She squawked, launching herself off the gantry, floating gracefully on the warm updrafts from the Hub floor. He watched her for a moment, then headed back down, sliding the sling he wore back into a more comfortable position. Owen had ordered he wear it for a week, and the way his chest felt Ianto wasn't going to argue. The bruises would heal fairly quickly; it was the burn itself that would take time, since dragons weren't prone to that sort of injury. It caused a bit of pain when he changed form, but he could handle that.

Gwen was seated at her own station, going over the case files from her suspension. She'd been angry at not having been called in for the crisis; it had led to quite a yelling match in Jack's office, until Jack had gone 'Captain' on her and told her that they couldn't risk that she hadn't been compromised. That had seemed to mollify her enough for Ianto to take her in hand and reacquaint her with weapons' training. While she didn't pass with flying colors, it was good enough for her to regain her carrying rights.

At least she didn't seem quite so irritated with him anymore. Ianto wondered how much of it in the last months had been Manger's influence. Still, it was obvious she still didn't like him, and was trying to be polite about it. Well, as long as she was polite, he could be the same.

It was quiet, and blessedly so. Ianto walked through the Hub and toward the kitchen, knowing the team would be wanting coffee shortly. His eyes tracked toward Jack's office, and he watched as his lover was speaking on the phone, his booted feet propped up on the desk, looking utterly relaxed. Ianto knew differently; Jack was still bothered by what he saw as his participation in ruining a good man, and it didn't seem to matter that he really wasn't at fault in the matter. It had all been Manger, and he'd only used Jack's shape to push his own agenda forward. Owen had autopsied the man this morning; from all signs he wasn't a shape-shifter, but there had been some chemical changes in Manger's brain, suggesting that it had all been some sort of mind control that had had them all acting oddly. It made sense, from Owen's experience, that it had to do with some sort of illusion. They'd never really know just what Manger had done to all of them, or if he'd been correct in his assertion that the demon Abaddon was imprisoned under the Rift. Ianto had spent part of the morning doing research, and all he could find was some religious texts that happened to mention him. Perhaps one day he'd ask one of the Great Dragons about it…

"Ianto!" he heard Toshiko calling out.

He poked his head out of the kitchen. "Yes, Tosh?"

"It's lunchtime. What say we all go and get something to eat at that new Thai place?"

It was tempting. Ianto glanced back at Jack's office; the boots had come down, and judging from the expression on his mate's face the call was about to get ugly. "It looks like Jack's going to be stuck on that call for a bit," he answered. He thought it might have been with someone from the Ministry, but he wasn't certain. "Why don't you three head out, and Jack and I will join you when he's done?"

She smiled. "Sounds like a plan. Is there anything you'd want us to order for you so it'll be ready when you get there?"

He considered. "No, don't worry about ordering for us. It's a calm enough day, so maybe we won't be interrupted."

Toshiko rolled her eyes. "You say that now…"

Ianto laughed. "Go, you lot. Jack and I will be there as soon as we can."

"Don't have to tell us twice," Owen butted in. "C'mon Tosh...Gwen…I'm starved."

The trio laughed as they left the Hub, and Ianto abandoned the coffee making in order to join Jack in his office in hopes to avoid any sort of incident. He walked in on Jack just getting wound up.

"– and, with all due respect," he was saying in a tone that reeked of 'I don't actually respect you at all', "Torchwood isn't something that should be discussed in Cabinet meetings!"

Oh, not that again…

"No, I don't care what the Minister of Defense wants," Jack went on. "No, it's really none of Mr. Saxon's business what Torchwood does. We answer to Her Majesty only, so I suggest you take it up with her." Jack saw him enter, waving him over.

Ianto took the invitation, coming to sit next to his lover, his rear planted quite firmly on the edge of the desk. He rested his hand on Jack's shoulder, trying to ground him. The dragon really didn't want to have to play make-up with the Ministry.

"I'm sorry, but this conversation is over," Jack snapped. "I have nothing else to say. Remove the Torchwood briefing or else I'll have to speak to the Queen. And believe me…she won't be as nice about it as I am." With that, he hung up, and not too gently. "You know, I do worry about the mental acuity of some of the people in charge of this country."

Ianto laughed. "At least you didn't call whoever it was any sort of disgusting names."

"Nah, not worth it." Jack smiled up at him. "I noticed the others left. Does this mean I get some alone time with my favorite dragon?"

"I should hope I'm your only dragon!" Ianto teased.

Jack tugged Ianto down into his lap, making an 'oomph' sound as the dragon connected with his thighs. "You need to go on a diet, Mr. Jones," he murmured, putting his arms around Ianto in order to keep him from moving.

"I can assure you," Ianto said primly, "that I am at my optimum weight for my human form."

"Well, you're certainly optimum, I have to say." With that bit of corniness, Jack kissed him.

Ianto gladly returned it, moaning as Jack's tongue swept its way within his mouth, making lazy strokes along Ianto's own tongue. They spent a very pleasurable several minutes in such activity, before Ianto reluctantly pulled away. "The rest of the team went to lunch, and have asked for us to join them," he whispered.

"I think I prefer Dragon for lunch myself," Jack growled playfully.

Ianto smirked. "I should hope so." He wriggled carefully out of Jack's arms, careful not to put any pressure on his injury.

Jack pouted as Ianto stood. "You're no fun."

"I don't recall you saying that the other night." Ianto held out his hand. "Come with me."

His lover looked at him closely, then took the offered hand. Ianto pulled him up and out of the seat, trying to ignore Jack getting right up into his personal space. "So we're going to have lunch with the team, then?"

"Actually," Ianto said, "I have another idea."

He'd been thinking about it since yesterday, when he'd awakened with Jack wrapped around him, feeling such comfort that he knew he didn't want to ever let go. Ianto wanted to put his plan into action, and he was really glad that their teammates had left them to their own devices.

The dragon pulled Jack along, downward toward the lower levels of the Hub. They approached the dragon's hoard, and Ianto had to let go of Jack's hand long enough to get the key out of his waistcoat pocket and unlock the door.

He ushered Jack inside, putting the lights on as he made his way over to one particular cabinet against the far wall. Ianto's heart was hammering as he reached up with his uninjured hand for a small wooden box on the upper shelf, hoping he wasn't doing the wrong thing.

Ianto turned to look at Jack, who had curiosity written all over him; even his posture spoke of how intrigued he was by Ianto's actions.

He took a step closer, opening the box. Ianto really hoped he wasn't overstepping, but he knew how he felt about Jack, and Jack hadn't made any secret of his emotions toward the dragon. Taking a deep breath, he said, "I once told you that I wanted to sing the Song of Commitment to you. After everything that's happened, I've decided that I'd like to do that today, if you have no objection."

The smile that blossomed on Jack's face answered any sort of niggling doubt that Ianto may have had. "I don't have any objection," he answered softly.

"Then, please," Ianto said, offering the box, "take this."

Jack's hand was trembling as he reached into the box, pulling out the object within. It was a ring, in Welsh gold, set with an oddly cut sapphire. "It was my father's," Ianto explained. "My mother had it made for him, even before the first of the great empires of the world had been formed. It's one of the last things I have of his, and I would like you to have it."

"Ianto, I…" Jack swallowed, looking at the dragon as he held the ring up to the light. The sapphire flashed blue fire against the reddish gold of the band.

"My father had slightly smaller hands than yours," Ianto rushed on, "but I think it should fit. Oh, and there's engraving on the inside." He held his breath, waiting for Jack to either accept or decline what he was offering.

He wanted Jack to accept so very badly.

"I don't have anything for you," his lover said, awestruck.

"You've given me so much already," Ianto answered. "Please, let me give this to you, as a pledge of my commitment to you." He wanted it to be so much more, but a true mating was just out of their reach. All he needed to know was that Jack truly wanted to commit to him. That was what was important.

Without another word, Jack slid the ring onto his left ring finger. It was a little loose – Ianto's father had worn it on his middle finger – but it didn't look like it would fall off.

Smiling, Ianto transformed, and began to sing.

The Song of Commitment was one of the oldest dragon songs, and its magic filled the underground room as the dragon sang the ancient words, affirming his commitment to Jack for eternity. He could feel the connection with his lover, and he could see that Jack also felt the same. It was special, this song, not meant to be sung in public, but for the most private of vows between soon-to-be mates. There was also a public Song of Intent, and the dragon wanted to sing that one as well, but would wait until they could gather all of their friends together for its performance.

For now, the Song of Commitment would signify everything he wanted to give Jack, including his heart.

Jack had moved to stand beside him; the dragon felt a warm arm across his shoulders, and Jack's reassuring bulk against his side. The pain from his injuries didn't matter as long as he sang for his lover.

"I really do love you," Jack whispered in his ear, once the song was done.

"And I, you," the dragon answered, changing back to his human form. He leaned forward, kissing Jack, pouring everything he was into the intimate touch of lips. Jack did the same, and Ianto never felt so cherished than in that moment.

"Do we have to join the others for lunch?" Jack purred in his ear, once they were done.

"We do," Ianto answered. "But wait until tonight…I have plans."

"Do you really?" Jack smiled softly. "I do hope they're good ones."

"They are. Trust me."

"With my heart, Ianto Jones. With my heart."

Ianto could feel the same soft smile grace his features. "The same, Jack Harkness."

"C'mon then," Jack said, taking his good hand. "I'm starving."

"You'll need to eat, to keep your strength up," Ianto teased, as they left the hoard room, locking the door behind them.

"Now that sounds like a very interesting hint of things to come," his lover leered.

They headed back up into the main Hub, hand in hand, Ianto happier than he had been in weeks. He and Jack had a long future together, and they would commit as much as they could, human to dragon.

"You're not gonna tell me what you have planned?" Jack wheedled, heading toward his office to get his coat.

"Nope," Ianto said, popping the 'p' in the way he knew Jack liked. "You'll just have to wait."

"If you say so," Jack's voice echoed out of the office, where Ianto could see him shrugging on the greatcoat.

Ianto was about to make a comment about impatient captains, when he noticed that the hand that Jack had told him was the Doctor's was beginning to glow, the preservative fluid bubbling away energetically.

He knew what that meant.

He also knew what he had to do.

"Jack!" he shouted urgently.

"Are you that hungry – " he started to say, noticing the bubbling jar. "Oh my Goddess," Jack gasped.

"You have to go," Ianto urged, even though all he wanted to do was bundle Jack in his arms and never let go. He knew how important these answers were to his lover, and the dragon would never stand in the way of that.

"But, Ianto…" Jack denied, shaking his head.

"No, you know you need to talk to him, to find out what happened to you. You've waited so long, Jack."

Jack stared at him for a moment, as if trying to read into the dragon's very soul. Ianto met his eyes squarely. "If you don't hurry you could miss him," he said gently.

Jack nodded, then in a flurry of movement he had the jar stuffed into a backpack, and together the pair were running out of the Hub, up the stairs and into the Tourist Office. They burst out onto Mermaid Quay, Ianto running in step with his lover, as they took the turning onto the Plass and toward where the invisible lift was, knowing that the Doctor's time machine would be there.

Ianto hoped that they could catch the Time Lord before he left, for Jack's sake. If they could only talk…then Jack wouldn't have to leave, and would get the answers he'd been waiting for, for so long. Ianto would never begrudge him those answers, to find out why he couldn't stay dead. They would catch the Doctor, give him his hand back, and discover what made Jack the way he was.

He could see the tall blue box in the distance as they pounded across the Plass. Ianto heard Jack shouting for the Doctor has they ran full out, and the dragon knew they were going to make it…

But then, the strangest noise came to their ears, and Ianto realized what was happening.

The Doctor was leaving.

"Go!" he cried, using his good hand to push Jack forward, toward the departing TARDIS. "You need to go now!"

Jack put on a burst of speed. "I'll be back, Ianto Jones!" he shouted over his shoulder, as he left the dragon behind.

Ianto stopped, panting hard, his chest aching with the exertion. He watched as Jack made a leap toward the disappearing machine, managing to grab onto the box as it faded from view.

His heart was pounding against his ribs, and the pain wasn't just from his injury. Jack was gone, had left to find whatever answers he could.

But, he knew Jack would be back. He'd promised.

And, there were times when you had to let what you loved the most go.

Ianto caught his breath, staring at the spot where the TARDIS had been…where Jack had been. The only thing he could do was make certain that Torchwood would still be there when his lover – his mate – returned.

Already feeling lonelier than he had in his long life, Ianto Jones headed back to the Hub.

He had a team to run.


End file.
